Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday renewed her appeal for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately release former President Rodrigo Duterte, saying his continued detention is unjust and that, given his age, a prolonged legal process is unbearable.
“Free him now. Free Duterte now. Bring him home,” Duterte told reporters.
She said the family continues to monitor the case through official ICC publications and noted that the trial is scheduled for November, a timeline they believe is too far away.
“We wanted an earlier trial date since he’s been here for one year and four months, and nothing has happened,” she said.
Duterte expressed hope that ICC officials would uphold the presumption of innocence and expedite the proceedings.
“We hope that they will always be for the accused since there is always a presumption of innocence for an accused. And they will speed up the trial,” she said.
She added that the family has repeatedly appealed for a faster resolution, citing the former president’s age.
“But we really do not know with the ICC… We can only request and plead with them to speed up the trial because he is already 81 years old, and he cannot afford to stay in detention for three, four, or five more years,” Duterte said.
Asked how she felt after 16 months without a final outcome, the vice president said the family remains angry over how the former president was taken into ICC custody.
“Well, we are angry. The moment that he was taken, he was kidnapped from the Philippines, and we are still angry now,” she said.
She added that while the family is cooperating with the legal process because the former president is already under the ICC’s jurisdiction, they continue to question whether the proceedings are being conducted objectively.
“We try to support the process but, of course, as a daughter and as Filipinos, we have feelings about how objective the ICC and the people inside the ICC are about the case. And, of course, we feel that there was really an injustice in how he was taken from our country,” she said.
Duterte also voiced concern that the case could drag on for years, raising fears that her father might die while in detention.
“Of course, yes. There is always the possibility that he will pass away inside the prison. That is something I already discussed with President Duterte. That is why he gave his instructions in case he dies in prison. But, of course, as a Filipino and as a daughter, we want him to die on Philippine soil,” she said.
