Vice President Sara Duterte spoke about her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, after visiting him at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center in The Hague. She said he looks very thin now but is still mentally alert and in a good mood.
“He’s doing fine and smiling,” she said in a Facebook interview shared by supporters. “He even joked that my arm is twice the size of his.”
According to Sara, her father is not in the hospital area and is not suffering from any major health issues. “He says he doesn’t feel anything serious, so we’re relieved,” she added.
Sara also shared what her father told her during their talk: “I did what I had to do for my country. I have no regrets.”
Many of their supporters are hoping the ICC case will be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. Some are also asking for an interim release for the former president.
“There’s no strong reason for the case. We understand why people are angry and frustrated,” Sara said.
Sara Speaks Out on Her Impeachment Case
Vice President Sara Duterte also spoke about the impeachment complaint filed against her in the House of Representatives. She believes the case is politically motivated and meant to destroy her reputation using issues about confidential funds.
“It’s clearly a setup,” she said. “During last year’s budget hearings, almost all questions were about confidential funds. It looked like they were reading from a script.”
Sara also said that House members got documents from the Commission on Audit (COA) in an illegal way. “They created hearings to make their actions seem legal,” she claimed.
She pointed out that the complaint had to be split into four parts because there wasn’t one strong case. Sara also mentioned that lawmaker Stella Quimbo was heard saying “let’s stick to our plan” during one session, suggesting that everything was planned ahead.
On ICC Case Evidence and Witnesses
When asked about Justice Secretary Boying Remulla’s statement that there’s no strong evidence in the Philippines against her father, Sara agreed. But she added that some evidence was fake and may have been collected by force or threats.
“You’ll soon see that some of their so-called proof was forced or made up,” she warned.
She also criticized the government for reportedly using public funds to bring witnesses to the ICC. “It’s sad that they’re willing to spend money on this but are slow to help Filipinos in war zones like Iran and Israel,” Sara said.
She ended her message with a comment on President Marcos’ recent call to stop political games.
“Maybe he should tell that to himself,” she said.
