Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, is on her way to the Netherlands to help her father after he was arrested in Manila on a warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and flown to The Hague.
Rodrigo Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022, was placed on a plane on Tuesday just hours after his arrest at Manila airport over alleged “crimes against humanity” stemming from a crackdown on drugs that killed thousands of people during his presidency.
Duterte, 79, could now become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC. Sara boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said in a statement on Wednesday. She is planning to help organise her father’s legal team in the Netherlands, local news outlet Rappler reported.
In an earlier statement, Sara said her father was “being forcibly taken to The Hague” in what amounted to “oppression and persecution”.
“This is a blatant affront to our sovereignty and an insult to every Filipino who believes in our nation’s independence,” she said.
Duterte’s youngest daughter, Veronica Duterte, plans to file a habeas corpus request with the Philippine Supreme Court to compel the government to bring her father back, Duterte’s former chief
legal counsel Salvador Panelo said. (Agencies)
