Vice President Sara Duterte called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately release former President Rodrigo Duterte, arguing that his continued detention is unjust and no longer meets the conditions required under the Rome Statute.

Speaking before Filipino supporters gathered in The Hague on Wednesday, July 29, Duterte said her father should no longer remain in ICC custody because he is not a flight risk, cannot interfere with the ongoing investigation, and is incapable of committing further crimes under the court's jurisdiction.

“There are three things in the Rome Statute that are to be considered before a release can be considered or granted to a respondent,” Duterte said.

The Vice President said the Rome Statute outlines three considerations for granting interim release: whether a respondent is a flight risk, whether the respondent can obstruct the investigation, and whether the respondent may continue committing crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction.

She argued that none of these conditions applies to the former president.

"First is that he is not a flight risk. Second is that he does not, will not, and cannot obstruct the ongoing investigation. And third, he cannot continue to commit crimes under the ICC jurisdiction," she said.

Duterte also cited her father's advanced age and deteriorating health, saying the 81-year-old former chief executive could barely care for himself.

"He is a flight risk because of the support of Filipinos around the world. Is that an assessment, a correct measure of a flight risk?" she asked.

"He is an 81-year-old who cannot make his own bed, who cannot even clean his own room, who has bedsores and so many aches and pains because of old age," she added.

The Vice President likewise maintained that her father had never attempted to interfere with the ICC investigation, even while he was still in office.

According to Duterte, the former president allowed critics and witnesses to speak freely and did not prevent ICC investigators from carrying out their work.

"The investigation started when? When he was president... And what did he do? Nothing at all. He allowed the ICC to say whatever it wants, to do whatever it wants, even when he was president," she said.

She further argued that keeping the former president behind bars despite these circumstances amounts to an "unjust delay" and "unjust detention."

"This is one year past the day former President Duterte arrived in The Hague... One year and four months. And nothing has happened in the case," Duterte said.

"It is an unjust delay and unjust detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte, mainly because he does not pose a flight risk, he will never impede or obstruct any investigation, and he will not continue to commit crimes," she added.

Duterte delivered the remarks during a gathering of Filipino supporters in The Hague, where she reiterated her family's position that the ICC should release the former president while proceedings continue.

The former president has been in ICC custody in connection with alleged crimes against humanity linked to his administration's anti-illegal drugs campaign.