The Palace is challenging Vice President Sara Duterte’s assertion that the Filipino public remains broadly outraged over the arrest and continued detention of former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, speaking at a press briefing Thursday, March 12, said the Vice President’s framing glossed over a significant portion of the population that holds a different view entirely.
“Sana tinanong ninyo siya, ‘Gaano karaming tao ang galit’ (You should ask her: How many people are angry)?” Castro said.
The Vice President had stated that Filipinos are still seething over her father’s arrest—which took place on March 11, 2025—and that public anger would not subside until the former president is returned to the Philippines.
Castro countered that those fighting for accountability over alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s drug war hold a starkly different sentiment. “Sa parte po ng mga tao na nagsusulong ng human rights at lumalaban sa mga karumal-dumal na pagpatay na bunga ng EJK at war on drugs ni dating Pangulong Duterte, hindi naman sila galit at sila ay nagpupunyagi (For those pushing for human rights and fighting the heinous killings from the extrajudicial killings and war on drugs, they are not angry and continue their advocacy),” she said.
The Palace official did not dismiss the anger felt by Duterte’s supporters, acknowledging that his detention before an international tribunal has stirred strong emotions among them. But she argued that this does not represent the full picture of public sentiment.
On the government’s decision to surrender the former president to the ICC, Castro framed it as a necessary step toward justice on multiple fronts. “Dahil itong pagpapadala kay dating pangulong Duterte sa The Hague ay ito ang unang hudyat para mabigyan ng hustisya hindi lamang po ang mga biktima ng EJK, pati na rin po ang dating Pangulong Duterte (Sending the former president to The Hague is the first step toward justice not only for the victims of extrajudicial killings but also for the former President himself),” she said.
Castro also noted that the ICC complaints were filed by Filipino victims themselves, who said they had exhausted avenues for justice domestically during the Duterte administration.
