Australia eyed for Duterte’s interim release

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June 24, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Australia is on the list of countries being considered for the interim release of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In an interview in Melbourne on Sunday, Vice President Sara Duterte said her father’s lawyers are looking at Australia for his release to a third-party country.

Critics are calling out the Vice President for seeking sympathy from overseas Filipino workers for her father, who is detained in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity over his bloody drug war that claimed over 6,000 lives.

“I am not here for the interim release, not for this visit,” she said of her visit to Melbourne over the weekend.

During a political rally calling for her father’s release, Duterte admitted to sending an informal message to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

“I did reach out to (Wong). Unfortunately, she is unable to meet me on Monday. So, I will not be visiting Australian government officials for this visit. I do hope that I could meet them on my next visit,” Duterte said.

“I informed her informally through a message that I am here in Australia and I am here to do a rally today. If she is available for a very brief quick chat, because I met her in the Philippines when she visited, I just want to say a ‘friendly hello.’ Nothing official,” she added.

Lawyers of the former president are requesting the International Criminal Court (ICC) to grant Duterte’s interim release, claiming that a country has expressed willingness to receive him.

Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who is accused of human trafficking, has met with Dutch lawyers and asked the Vice President to do an online consultation.

Duterte claimed she could not discuss with her father details of his interim release request as the ICC was supposedly eavesdropping.