Vice President Sara Duterte sounded the alarm on Saturday, September 27, claiming that her family received “credible information” that former president Rodrigo Duterte was discovered unconscious inside his detention cell at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement, the Vice President said the family had not been officially informed of the incident and that the former leader was subjected to a series of laboratory tests afterward.
“These alarming developments raise grave concerns about the capacity of the ICC to guarantee the security and safety of FPRRD,” she said, emphasizing that keeping her father under such conditions was “not only unjust but inhumane. It amounts to punishment without having been convicted of any crime.”
She criticized the ICC further, pointing out that the court had failed to promptly address what she described as an “easily treatable” ingrown toenail and continued to disregard the family’s appeal for a full-time caregiver. “If the ICC is to remain true to its mandate as a court of justice, it cannot turn a blind eye to the health and wellness condition of FPRRD. To deprive an elderly man — abducted, denied his rights under Philippine law, and subjected to surveillance disguised as ‘welfare checks’ — of basic dignity and proper care is not justice. This is cruelty,” she stressed.
The Vice President also linked the ICC’s “welfare check,” conducted by Philippine Embassy officials in The Hague, to surveillance rather than genuine consular assistance. She further asserted that the detention was politically motivated, citing the complaint filed by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, one of her father’s fiercest critics.
She maintained that the former president was not a flight risk, had no intent to intimidate complainants, and had no plans of returning to politics as Davao City mayor. “The ICC should act now to rectify this gross injustice and ensure that former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte is afforded the proper care and, ultimately, the humanitarian considerations he rightfully deserves,” she said.
The Duterte family and legal camp are now pushing for the interim release of the ex-president to a third-party country, alongside a petition to adjourn all ICC proceedings against him, citing his declining cognitive condition.
Rodrigo Duterte, accused of crimes against humanity tied to thousands of deaths during his administration’s drug war, was due for a confirmation of charges hearing on September 23. However, the pre-trial chamber postponed the session after his defense claimed he was unfit to stand trial.
