VP Sara on father's arrest: Marcos admin colluded with ICC

Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday claimed that the Marcos administration had colluded with the International Criminal Court to arrest her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In her speech during the Free Duterte Now rally in The Hague, Netherlands, Sara said the ICC decided to prosecute her father for crimes against humanity, with the help of the Marcos administration, in relation to the war on drugs despite questions surrounding claims about unlawful killings.

“Ano sabi nila? 30,000 dead. Nagsimula sila sa 12[000]. Umakyat sila sa 15,000. Umakyat sila sa 30,000. Lahat ng mga namatay - DDS. Pero kung hingin mo sa kanila ang listahan, walang listahan ng 30,000. At anong lumabas sa charges nila? 43 counts of murder. Kaduda-duda pa yung ibang sinasabi ng mga biktima dahil hindi masabi, yung totoo na sila ay biktima ng EJK [extrajudicial killings],” she said.

(What did they say? 30,000 dead. It started at 12[000]. It climbed to 15,000. It increased to 30,000. All of those who died were DDS. But if you asked them for a list, there’s no list of the 30,000. What came out in the charges? 43 counts of murder. Claims from other victims were also suspicious because they couldn’t say the truth that they were victims of EJK.)

“Alam ng ICC na ganyan ang estado ng kaso, pero pinilit pa rin nilang kunin si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Hindi na nila makuha yun eh. Pero ano nangyari? Binigay siya ng administrasyon ni Marcos. Ginamit, nagkuntsaba ang ICC at ang administrasyon ni BBM. Gamitan tayo dito. Kailangan nyo ng kaso. Kailangan namin palayasin yan dito kasi talong-talo na kami sa politika,” she added.

(The ICC knows this is the status of the case, but they still insisted on taking former president Rodrigo Duterte. They couldn’t get him. But what happened? The Marcos administration handed him over. The ICC and the BBM administration colluded. They used each other. You needed a case, and we needed to drive him away because we were losing in politics.)

Speaking to the media, Duterte said the Marcos administration is using the ICC to keep the elder Duterte away from the country. 

"Nagpapagamit ang ICC sa administrasyon ni --- administrasyon ni Marcos at si Marcos naman ginagamit niyang ang ICC para malayo, makulong o mawala si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa ating bansa," the Vice President said.

"Kasi kung maalala ninyo, bago siya dinala dito sa The Hague ay si dating pangulong Duterte ang foremost staunch, critic ng administrasyon ni Marcos. At para sa kanila, ayaw nila ng merong opposition o ayaw nila ng merong kumokontra sa kanila," she added.

(The ICC is allowing itself to be used by the Marcos administration, and in turn, Marcos is using the ICC to distance, imprison, or remove former president Rodrigo Duterte from the country. If you recall, before he was brought here to The Hague, former president Duterte was one of the most vocal critics of the Marcos administration, and they don’t want any opposition or anyone who goes against them.)

In response, ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said, ''We can’t comment on political statements.''

''The Court is a judicial institution and any challenges raised before the judges would be decided on by the ICC Judges,'' El Abdallah said in an email to GMA News Online.

GMA News Online has also sought comment from Malacañang.

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11 based on a warrant issued by the ICC.

He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.

Sara said her father's detention lacked basis.

“Mayroong tao diyan sa loob ng ICC detention na nakakulong na ang pinagbasehan ay marites… Meron tayong dating pangulo na nakakulong dahil ginawa niya ang kanyang trabaho para sa bayan,” she said.

(There is someone inside the ICC detention that was detained based on rumors… We have a former president that is detained because he did his job for the country.)

“Nakikialam ang ICC sa ginagawa natin para sa bayan natin. Nakikialam sila sa governance ng ating bayan. Nakikialam sila dahil meron silang some sort of, unang-una, agenda at kailangan nila panindigan yung suporta na pera na ibinibigay ng iba't ibang mga bansa para sa kanila at meron silang ina-apply na global order para sa lahat. Nakikialam sila sa pagpapatakbo o sa gusto ng mga sariling Pilipino para sa kanilang bayan o sa Pilipinas,” she continued.

(The ICC is meddling in what we are doing for our country. They are meddling in the country’s governance. They are meddling because they have some sort of agenda, and they need to justify the financial support provided to them by different countries by showing that they apply global order for all. They are meddling in how the Philippines is being run or what the Filipinos want for their country.)

The Vice President continued her call for Duterte’s release and return to the Philippines.

“Kaya tayo nandito kasi gusto natin sabihin sa ICC, bitawan nyo na yan. Huwag nyo kaming pakialaman. Dahil bansa namin ito, kung ano yung gusto namin mangyari, kami lang mga Pilipino ang magdidesisyon,” she said.

(That is why I am here because I want to tell the ICC to back off. Don't interfere because it is our country. What we Filipinos want to happen should be decided by us alone.)

Meanwhile, Sara said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was pretending to be “kind” and “low-key.''

“Nagkukunwari siya na mabait. Gusto niya ipakita sa lahat ng mga tao na mabait ako, pero dahil presidente ka manggagaling pa rin sa iyo ang utos. Hindi siya weak leader para sa akin. Ang basa ko sa kanya gusto niyang ipakita na mabait siya na Marcos, hindi siya tulad noong kanyang tatay. Hindi siya yung Marcos na diktador, ang kanya ay ‘lowkey’ ang kanyang gustong i-project sa ating lahat,” she said.

(He’s just pretending to be kind. He wants to show the people that he is kind, but because he is the president, the orders come from him. For me, he is not a weak leader. My take on him is that he wanted to present himself as a kind Marcos, unlike his father. He is not a dictator Marcos, but he preferred to project himself as ''low-key.'')

Sara added that she saw no successful projects under the current administration. —with Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan and Mariel Celine Serquiña/VBL/RF, GMA Integrated News