MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte has gotten thinner, his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, told Filipinos in Melbourne, Australia.
“I’m telling you, you haven’t seen him this thin,” the vice president said in Filipino during the “Free Duterte Now” event in Melbourne on Sunday.
“Why did he lose weight? Because of the difficulty of his situation. He is not used to doing house chores,” she said. She added that the former leader is “sad.”
The former president, ordered arrested by the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity, is detained in The Hague.
The vice president said that the cold weather also bothers her father. “Even if there’s a heater, the cold seeps into his room,” she said.
Another factor is the way his food is prepared.
“We understand that the detention unit is really trying to give him food that he will like because it’s culturally appropriate,” she said. However, the Vice President said her father prefers Filipino food.
“We are thankful because just a few days after president Duterte arrived at The Hague, they found a way to give him rice in his meals,” she said.
