The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday rejected anew Vice President Sara Duterte’s assertion that Philippine Embassy officials in The Hague acted “intrusively” when they visited former president Rodrigo Duterte at the detention facility of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“It can be underscored that the consular visit was made by career consular officials of the Embassy in a professional, nonintrusive and respectful manner, and not by any other supposed ‘agents of the government,’” DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said in a statement.
Escalona also cited an earlier clarification from ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah, who stressed that the tribunal follows the Rome Statute and international standards on consular access. “Such visits, if any, are strictly conducted with the approval or at the request of the person in detention,” Abdallah had said.
Vice President Duterte, however, reiterated her claim on Saturday, calling the embassy’s welfare check “an abuse of power against a vulnerable individual” by “agents of the government.”
Human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares countered that her remarks were “propaganda” aimed at diverting public attention from the new set of murder charges filed against the former president. He said the tactic was meant to confuse the public and delay trial proceedings.
Colmenares pointed to Regulation 100 of the ICC Regulations of the Court, which specifies that detainees are informed about the identity of visitors and can refuse them.
Rodrigo Duterte has been in ICC custody since his arrest in March and faces three counts of murder over allegations that he created a death squad responsible for thousands of killings during his war on drugs.
