Vice President Sara Duterte has shared that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, is noticeably thinner and struggling with his current situation while being detained at The Hague.
Speaking during a “Free Duterte Now” gathering in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday, the vice president gave a candid glimpse into her father’s condition. “You haven’t seen him this thin,” she told the crowd in Filipino, pointing to the physical toll of his detention.
She noted that the former president, who now faces an arrest order from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity, is not accustomed to his new environment. “He lost weight because of the difficulty of his situation. He is not used to doing house chores,” she added, emphasizing that he also feels “sad.”
Sara Duterte also described how the cold weather is affecting the former leader despite heating in his cell. “Even if there’s a heater, the cold seeps into his room,” she said.
She mentioned that while the detention unit is making efforts to provide culturally appropriate meals, her father initially struggled with the food. “We understand that the detention unit is really trying to give him food that he will like,” she said. Fortunately, she added, “just a few days after president Duterte arrived at The Hague, they found a way to give him rice in his meals.”
