Vice President Sara Duterte revealed that Senator Imee Marcos was prohibited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) from visiting former President Rodrigo Duterte at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.
In a video interview outside the detention compound, the Vice President said she informed her father of Marcos’ presence in The Netherlands, but added, “She was not allowed by the ICC to visit and talk to former president Rodrigo Duterte.”
According to ICC rules, only detainees’ relatives, legal representatives, consular officials, and spiritual advisers are allowed visitation.
The Vice President and her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, visited the former president a day before her 47th birthday and ahead of a gathering of supporters in The Hague calling for Duterte’s release as he awaits trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
VP Duterte noted that the former president was grateful for Senator Marcos’ support, especially her investigation into the circumstances of his arrest and the filing of related findings to the Ombudsman. “He said he wanted to talk to Senator Imee but… ‘there will be another time for that,’” she recalled.
She also clarified that Marcos holds no formal role in Duterte’s ICC case. “She is only here to talk to Attorney Kaufman,” referring to Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman. “She has no role either on the defense or on the ICC prosecution case,” the Vice President stressed.
During the visit, VP Duterte brought her father a can of Coke Zero. “He didn’t drink it,” she said with a smile. “He said he would bring it to his room.”
The Vice President also updated Duterte on the recent senatorial election results, saying two PDP-Laban candidates had won, alongside guest candidates Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar, and Senator Imee Marcos.
