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March 12, 2025 | 04:16 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Sara Duterte strongly condemned the arrest of her father, Rodrigo Duterte, by the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it a case of state abduction.
"It's some sort of—I don't know—what you call 'state kidnapping'," said Sara Duterte in an interview at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, the Philippines, as quoted from ABS CBN on Tuesday night, March 11, 2025.
Sara visited Villamor Air Base to see her father but was denied entry. On Tuesday, former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, shortly after his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong.
Duterte was arrested based on an order for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court for a deadly war on drugs.
He was later taken to the Philippine Air Force headquarters before being flown to The Hague, Netherlands.
He becomes the first former president from Asia to be prosecuted by the ICC. In her statement, Sara called the surrender of her father to the ICC as oppression and persecution.
The arrest, she added, is an insult to the sovereignty of the Philippines and an abuse of all Filipino citizens who acknowledge their independence.
"Today, our own government has surrendered a Filipino citizen—even a former President at that —to foreign powers. This is a blatant affront to our sovereignty and an insult to every Filipino who believes in our nation’s independence," she said in a statement.
She claimed that her father was being denied of his fundamental rights.
"Worse, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is being denied his fundamental rights. Since he was taken this morning, he has not been brought before any competent judicial authority to assert his rights and to allow him to avail of reliefs provided by law. As I write this, he is being forcibly taken to The Hague tonight. This is not justice—this is oppression and persecution," Sara added.
Sara also described the act as a "betrayal" of the nation's sovereignty and dignity.
"This act shows the world that this government is willing to abandon its own citizen and betray the very essence of our sovereignty and national dignity. God save the Philippines," she added.
During his presidency, Rodrigo Duterte waged a relentless war on drugs. This harsh action has resulted in the deaths of at least 6,000 people. However, human rights groups have reported that the number may have reached 30,000.
The Gulfstream G550 carrying Duterte took off at 11:03 PM local time bound for The Hague, where the former president will be tried before the ICC.
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