MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said that her work at The Hague in the Netherlands was “done” and she could fly back to Manila as soon as her siblings arrive to visit their father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, in his detention facility at the Scheveningen Prison.
The elder Duterte is facing charges at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for his bloody war on drugs that killed more than 6,000 individuals.
In an interview with reporters and supporters outside the prison, which has been converted into a meeting place for overseas Filipinos, the vice president said that her job of assessing the lawyers for her father’s defense was “done” and that the full list would be announced by his lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, in the next few days.
“My duty here is done. You saw earlier that I brought in a green envelope, that is the last document that the ICC Detention Unit is requesting of me. Our legal team is also complete, the former president has met another new lawyer today,” Duterte said in Filipino.
Duterte also said that they have aestablished a system of scheduling between the lawyers and liaison on who to talk to about legal matters and the needs of the former president inside the facility, as well as the scheduling of the arrivals of her siblings who will take care of their father in the next two months.
She said that Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte would be the next to arrive at The Hague, taking over from her in the coming days once her father’s current partner, Honeylet Avancena and her daughter, Veronica, fly back to the Philippines.
“What we cannot confirm is the arrival of Mayor Sebastian Duterte but supposedly he will be the next one after Congressman Paolo Duterte. He will be here so that any allowed visits inside will include his family members to talk to him and give updates to what is happening in the Philippines,” the vice president said.
Duterte also reiterated that the family was using personal funds for their travel expenses.
