Philippine V-P heads to The Hague as lawyers explore legal remedies for ex-president Duterte
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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, but her office did not say what she intended to do there or how long she plans to stay in the Netherlands.
PHOTO: AFP
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MANILA – Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte travelled to the Netherlands on March 12 following the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of its probe into his “war on drugs”.
Mr Duterte, a maverick former mayor and former prosecutor who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was flown to The Hague on March 11
The plane carrying Mr Duterte, though, was delayed. It was originally set to land at Rotterdam airport at around 6am GMT, but tracking service Flightradar24 showed it was still in Dubai and would have a later arrival time in the Netherlands. It left hours later.
Mr Duterte received medical attention during the layover in Dubai, broadcaster ABS-CBN News said.
ABS-CBN showed on its website pictures of what it said were police doctors checking on him as he lay on a bed inside the plane.
The 79-year-old could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC
About 20 anti-Duterte protesters gathered outside the court in The Hague with banners and a mask depicting Mr Duterte as a vampire.
In Manila, meanwhile, the Philippine Supreme Court rejected Mr Duterte’s petition to halt the enforcement of the ICC’s order to arrest him.
The “petitioners failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right for the immediate issuance” of a temporary restraining order, the court spokesman said in a statement on March 12.
Ms Duterte, the vice-president, boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said in a statement, but it did not say what she intended to do there or how long she plans to stay in the Netherlands.
Mr Silvestre Bello, a former labour minister and one of the former president’s lawyers, said a legal team will meet to assess options and seek clarity on where Mr Duterte will be taken and whether it would be granted access to him.
“First thing we will do is find out where exactly the former president will be brought so we know where we should go, because he will need legal assistance,” Mr Bello said. “We will also discuss all possible legal remedies.”
Mr Duterte was expected to arrive in the Netherlands on March 12.
His youngest daughter, Ms Veronica Duterte, plans to file a habeas corpus request with the Philippine Supreme Court to compel the government to bring him back, said Mr Salvador Panelo, Mr Duterte’s former chief legal counsel.
The war on drugs was the signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial Mr Duterte to power in 2016. During his six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, by police count.
But activists say the real toll was far greater, with many thousands more slumland drug users gunned down in mysterious circumstances, some of whom were on community “watch lists” after they signed up for treatment.
Although Mr Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty in 2019 as it started looking into the drug war, the court says it has jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes that took place while a country was a member.
Ms Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Former president Duterte’s arrest and transfer to The Hague is a long-overdue victory against impunity that could bring victims and their families a step closer to justice.
“This momentous event sends a message to human rights abusers everywhere that one day they could be held to account.” REUTERS
