Du30 to supporters: Don’t talk about case
Former President Rodrigo Duterte wants his supporters and friends not to meddle in his case in the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he is facing the charge of crime against humanity of murder in relation to his war on drugs, according to his daughter.
Vice President Sara Duterte visited her father on Thursday and this was supposedly his message on the eve of his 80th birthday to his supporters who sympathize with his plight and clamor for his release from detention and return to the country.
“He said let’s not interfere in his case at the International Criminal Court. Let us let his lawyers and the court itself decide on what will happen or what will be followed as part of the court processes,” she said, giving no explanation for his father’s desire.
The Vice President spoke before hundreds of Filipino supporters of the former leader during a rally to mark his birthday on Friday at a park near the ICC detention center in The Hague, the Netherlands, where he has been held since March 12.
“He said, if you want to express your support, if you want to express your anger or if you want to express your satisfaction, he said, let’s not talk about the case and let’s not talk about what’s happening in the case,” she added.
She thanked those who joined rallies to show support for the former president, who is being held in a cell in a prison complex in The Hague’s Scheveningen district, about 1.5 kilometers from the ICC headquarters.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) issued a warrant for his arrest after finding “reasonable grounds” that he committed the crime he was accused of in his antinarcotics campaign. Thousands of mostly poor suspected drug users and pushers were killed after they allegedly fought back, or “nanlaban,” against the police.
A Facebook live by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday showed the crowd at the park. Some of them, including Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan president Sen. Robinhood Padilla, were wearing green, the color associated with the Dutertes. Others wore shirts with the words “Bring him home.”
Roque is in The Hague to apply for asylum, claiming he is being persecuted in the Philippines.
Duterte’s family and his supporters denounced his turnover to the ICC by the Philippine government as a “kidnapping” and a violation of due process.
His two sons—Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte—and his daughter Veronica by his partner Honeylet Avanceña filed a writ of habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court to demand his return to the Philippines.
But Malacañang and international law experts familiar with ICC proceedings refuted their claim, saying that there was nothing irregular about the arrest and there was no need for him to be presented before a Philippine court, citing the country’s own law penalizing crimes against humanity.
British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who is leading Duterte’s defense team, also said last week that he was being “illegally detained” and that he should be returned to the Philippines “as soon as possible.” Kaufman also indicated that he would seek temporary liberty for the former president.
Honeylet, Kitty visit
Avanceña and Veronica, more popularly known as Kitty, were allowed to visit Duterte on Friday afternoon. It was the first time they saw each other since he was flown to The Hague after his arrest on March 11 on their return from a trip to Hong Kong.
A crowd of supporters surged toward her and her daughter as they headed from the detention center to a vehicle. The mother and daughter made brief stops for selfies with them.
Duterte appeared for the first time before the ICC PTC via video link from his cell on March 14 during a brief initial hearing, which was mainly intended to establish his identity and determine that he was aware of the case against him.
Duterte is being accused as a “coperpetrator” of the extrajudicial killings in his drug war.
