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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Go lang!': Sara tells Bato ICC detention is better than getting sick or dying

'Go lang!': Sara tells Bato ICC detention is better than getting sick or dying

Published Jan 28, 2026 03:33 pm
Vice President Sara Duterte believed that the worst thing that could happen to a person is to die or get sick, and not to get jailed at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Duterte on Wednesday, Jan. 28, had it in response to Senator Ping Lacson, who said the worst thing to happen to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is to be detained in The Hague.
The Vice President, whose father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been in jail in The Hague since March 2025, assured Dela Rosa, who has gone into hiding amid a rumored arrest warrant against him, that a detention would not look as bad as dying or even getting sick.
"Sa tingin ko lang ha, sa lahat ng tao, sa buhay ng isang tao, the worst thing that could happen is magkasakit at mamatay. Kapag wala kang sakit at hindi ka namatay at buhay na buhay ka pa kahit nasa loob ka man ng kulungan o nasa labas ka ng kulungan, okay na (I believe that the only worst thing that could happen for a person is to get sick and die. As long as you aren’t sick, you aren't dead, and you’re very much alive—whether you're inside a prison or out—then everything is okay)," Duterte said in an interview in The Hague on Jan. 27.
"Kasi hindi lahat ng tao ba binibigyan ng 70 years, ng 75 years, ng 80 years, ng Diyos. Iyong iba, lumabas lang, bumili ng itlog hindi na nakabalik sa pamilya nila. So, yan na yung pinaka worst na mangyari sa isang tao (Not everyone is given 70 years, 75 years, or 80 years to live. Others just get out of their homes to buy eggs and end up not making it back to their families. So, that really is the worst thing that can happen to a person)," she added.
Duterte also downplayed the apparent fear being felt by the senator, who is allegedly among the respondents in the crime against humanity charges at the ICC.
Why the Vice President believed it would be the worst thing to happen was because when you get sick, you would lose all your savings; and when you die, you would leave your loved ones."Kaya diba, yung kay sitwasyon ni Senator Bato, wala yan. Hindi naman siya nagkasakit eh. Yung mga kawawa ng mga tao yung mga magpa-chemo tapos sobrang hina after nila...'yung mga nag-aantay na lang kung anong oras sila kukunin ni Lord (So Senator Bato’s situation is nothing compared to that. He didn't get sick. The people who are truly pitiful are those undergoing chemo, who are so weak afterwards... those who are just waiting for the hour the Lord takes them)," she said.
"Yun yung mga worst cases or worst incidents na mangyari sa buhay ng isang tao. Kapag buhay na buhay ka, wala kang sakit at hindi ka namatay, okay kaya, go lang! (Those are the worst case that can happen in a person's life. As long as you are very much alive, you aren't sick, and you haven't died, then it's okay—just keep going!)" she added.

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Sara Duterte Vice President Bato Dela Rosa ICC
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