Pulong Duterte on his way to the Netherlands —VP Sara

Davao City Representative Paolo "Pulong" Duterte is set to visit his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in The Hague, Netherlands, where the former leader is currently detained for alleged crimes against humanity.

This was confirmed by Vice President Sara Duterte during an ambush interview in Cebu, noting that her brother will stay in the Netherlands until before the midterm elections in the Philippines.

Pulong Duterte is seeking reelection as representative of Davao City’s first district.

According to the Vice President, their father’s common-law partner, Honeylet Avanceña, will make endorsements to Pulong.

“Nag-overlap ‘yung schedules nila para makapag-endorse si Honeylet sa kuya namin, kay Congressman Pulong. And aalis na rin si Honeylet, babalik na rin siya sa Pilipinas,” Sara Duterte said.

(Their schedules overlapped so that Honeylet could make endorsements. But Honeylet is already set to return to the Philippines.)

“So ang maiwan doon ngayon ay si Congressman Pulong Duterte hanggang bago sa araw ng eleksyon. Dahil kailangan din niyang umuwi dahil kailangan niyang bumoto sa Davao City,” she added.

(Pulong Duterte will be the one left in the Netherlands until before elections. He just needs to go home for the elections because he needs to vote in Davao City.)

As of 12:53 p.m. on Tuesday, the Office of Congressman Duterte said that it has yet to receive confirmation if Pulong has already landed in the Netherlands.

The Vice President also disclosed that her half sister, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte already returned to the Philippines from the Netherlands to continue her studies. 

In March, the House of Representatives granted travel clearance to Pulong Duterte for his personal trip to 16 countries and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.

Earlier this month, Pulong’s son, Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II, said that the office of Davao City first district representative remains open and functional even if the lawmaker is not physically present there.

The Duterte patriarch was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities last March 11 based on a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). —AOL, GMA Integrated News