Vice President Sara Duterte spoke to Filipinos in Kuwait and shared the latest update about her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. She revealed that Duterte’s camp is now questioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) because they believe the court broke its own rules.
According to her, the ICC was only allowed one year to start an investigation into Duterte’s case. But instead, the ICC began looking into him after more than a year had already passed.
“They already used up the time they were allowed, so they can’t do this anymore,” Sara explained.
Why Duterte Is Facing the ICC
Rodrigo Duterte, who once served as mayor of Davao City and later as president of the Philippines, is accused of crimes against humanity because of his deadly war on drugs.
-
He was arrested in the Philippines on March 11.
-
He is now being held in Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands.
-
Official government reports say over 6,000 people were killed during police operations.
-
But human rights groups claim the real number could be as high as 30,000 deaths.
This sharp difference in numbers is one of the reasons why the ICC pushed for a deeper probe.
Legal Battles and Defense Moves
Duterte’s defense team is not stopping at just questioning the ICC’s time limit. Earlier this month, they also asked the court to remove Prosecutor Karim Khan from the case. They argue that he has a serious conflict of interest and should not be allowed to handle the investigation.
In July, the ICC agreed to pause its decision about Duterte’s request for temporary release until his lawyers could gather more documents to support it.
Sara said her father’s lawyers even filed for interim release, stressing that he is now 80 years old and should be given some consideration because of his age.
However, she did not reveal which country her father’s defense team used as part of their request.
Duterte’s Health Condition
Vice President Sara also talked about her father’s health while in prison. She said that while he is doing fine, he has gotten noticeably thinner.
“This is the thinnest I’ve ever seen him in my life,” she admitted.
Doctors are closely watching what Duterte eats and are carefully checking his weight. Sara added that she trusts the doctors:
“If they say he’s okay, then I believe he’s okay.”
👉 The conflict between the ICC and Duterte’s camp is far from over. The main issue now is whether the court still has the right to continue investigating him—or if, as his camp argues, the ICC has already run out of time.
