The family of former president Rodrigo Duterte said Friday that it accepts “with peaceful hearts” the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber to deny his request for interim release. 

In a statement, members of the Durterte family said that they “will continue to work with the defense team on the case and will keep supporting Former President Rodrigo Duterte with our daily conversations.” 

“We thank everyone who prayed with us today,” they added. 

Judges of the Appeals Chamber ruled unanimously, rejecting all three grounds related to the appeal. With this, Duterte will continue to be detailed in The Hague, Netherlands.

“Finally, the Appeals Chamber notes that the pre-trial chamber reached its conclusions in relation to the risks enumerated in Article 58-1B of the Statute on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the information before it,” the Appeals Chamber said in a decision read by Judge Luz del Carmen Ibañez Carranza.

“In the present case, having rejected the three grounds of appeal presented by the defense in the appeal brief, the appeals chamber unanimously confirms the impugned decision,” she added. 

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

He is currently detained in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity for alleged extrajudicial killings during his administration's drug war.

Duterte ally, Sen. Robin Padilla, said he was sad because the interim release was something for which he had been waiting.

“Malungkot siyempre kasi tagal kong inantay ’yun eh. Medyo nakatutok nga ako sa TV kanina eh. Kaya nga ako umalis sa plenary sandali. Umakyat ako, nanood ako, nag-antay ako," Padilla said when asked for his comment on the ruling.

"Pero nung nagbabasa na ’yung judge… binabasa na niya ’yung mga merits. Sabi ko sa aking lawyer, wala na ’to. Malungkot na ’to. Malungkot siyempre. Depressed,” Padilla said when asked for his reaction to the ruling," he added.

(It was sad, of course, because I had been waiting for it for a long time. I was a bit focused on the TV earlier. That's why I left the plenary for a while. I went up, I watched, I waited. But when the judge was reading… he was reading the merits. I told my lawyer, it's gone. It's sad. I'm depressed.)

(With reports from Giselle Ombay, Mariz Umali, GMA Integrated News)