The International Criminal Court (ICC) has declined to directly address Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was found unconscious inside his detention cell in The Hague.
“Respecting the right to privacy, we do not comment on matters related to [the] private situation of a detained person,” ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said in a statement to GMA Integrated News.
Instead, the Court emphasized that it operates strictly under the Rome Statute and applicable international rules that guarantee access to consular representatives for detained individuals. “Such visits, if any, are strictly conducted with the approval or at the request of the person in detention,” El Abdallah noted.
He added that the ICC “takes all necessary measures for the preservation of physical and psychological wellbeing of all detainees,” underscoring that the institution’s procedures are designed to safeguard those under its custody.
The clarification follows a series of strong statements from the Duterte camp. Vice President Sara Duterte earlier criticized the ICC for subjecting her father to what she described as “inhumane” and “unjust” detention conditions. Former president Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, also revealed that his client had previously collapsed in his cell and required hospital assessment for cranial and brain injuries, a development not relayed in real time to either his family or defense team.
Kristina Conti, a Filipino human rights lawyer and ICC Assistant to Counsel, separately reminded the public that Dutch laws on medical confidentiality prohibit the disclosure of detainees’ health conditions without consent, warning that unverified claims and disinformation could “backfire” on those spreading them.
The former Philippine leader, who faces crimes against humanity charges linked to his administration’s bloody war on drugs, remains in ICC custody as the Court weighs whether he is medically fit to stand trial.
