Detained former president Rodrigo Duterte had a simple but heartfelt message for his children when they visited him at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center in The Hague on Friday: “Take care of each other, look out for each other.”
His youngest daughter Veronica, or Kitty, shared the moment through a vlog posted on the Facebook page of former presidential spokesman Harry Roque. She said her father underscored the importance of family. “He emphasized the value of family because it is hard if you’re against everyone plus your family,” she explained.
Kitty was accompanied by her half-siblings, Vice President Sara Duterte and Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte. She noted that Davao City Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte would join them soon. “Of course, he has instructions to each of us, especially to Manong (Paolo) as the eldest son. We said it is better to wait for VM (Vice Mayor) Sebastian as he is on his way so that you can instruct each and everyone of us,” she added.
The former president appeared delighted to see his children. “He is in high spirits as the four of us will soon be complete as part of his special request,” Kitty said.
During the visit, Vice President Sara updated her father on political developments in the Philippines. “She was briefing him on the updates that he needs to know so we talked a bit about politics as that’s his interest. VP mentioned about the ghost projects, the flood control projects. He asked many things but of course there are limits on the extent of our conversation,” Kitty recounted.
Meanwhile, Rep. Duterte relayed his father’s words to Roque: “Do your thing. You don’t need his signature.”
