3 days ago
5
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
March 28, 2025 | 11:42am
MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte turned 80 on Friday, March 28, inside the detention facility of the very court he once vowed would never try him — a stark comedown for a man who once commanded presidential pomp but now marks his birthday in the sterile confines of a Dutch prison complex.
The man once dubbed "The Punisher" now finds himself in the ICC detention center in Scheveningen on the outskirts of The Hague, Netherlands, just over three weeks after his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Duterte in 2019 told reporters: "You must be stupid," when he was asked about the possibility of facing the ICC. "I will only face, be tried or face a trial, in a Philippine court. Presided by a Filipino judge. Prosecuted by a Filipino... I will not answer a Caucasian, asking questions, white man there."
Six years later, that defiance has given way to the reality of international justice, as the 80-year-old former strongman now occupies a standard cell with a single bed, basic furnishings, and a computer that connects only to his defense team.
At home, Duterte's allies have been rallying to convince the Senate — and, more pointedly, the public — that his transfer to the ICC violated Philippine laws.
But government officials, including the president, have stood by the country's obligations to comply with the Interpol, through which the ICC arrest warrant was issued.
As Duterte marked his 80th birthday behind bars, Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa — the police chief who implemented his bloody drug war and who may himself face ICC arrest — posted on Facebook: "Everything is temporary. So let's stay strong, keep fighting, and don't surrender."
In a statement, Vice President Sara Duterte thanked their supporters and said their solidarity "eases the challenges [Rodrigo Duterte] faces now." She asked Filipinos to pray for her father's health and swift return to the Philippines.
Life in detention
The detention facility holding Duterte is a far cry from the overcrowded Philippine jails that his so-called war on drugs pushed beyond breaking point. Duterte's brutal anti-illegal drugs campaign had flooded detention facilities with small-time users and street peddlers, many of whom became stuck as thousands of drug-related cases piled up in court dockets.
Inside, Duterte has access to fresh air, recreational time and sports activities — though according to his daughter, he's reluctant to use them.
"I told him the doctor says you should walk. Don't just sit in your room," Sara Duterte said during a speech to Filipinos in The Hague last week. "Then I said, you're allowed to go out there. Just tell the guard."
The vice president said her father preferred to remain in his room. "I don't want to walk outside because I might head straight for the gate and leave this place," the former president said, according to Sara Duterte.
The former president's daily life has been reduced to simple routines. When asked what he needed, his shopping list was mundane: shaving cream and Coke Zero. "He has a fondness for Coke Zero and that's all he asked for on his shopping list inside," Sara told supporters gathered outside the ICC on March 23. She described buying him four cans, instructing him to ration them over several days until his next grocery delivery.
Duterte has apparently stopped requesting Filipino dishes after discovering the facility's kitchen staff couldn't properly prepare them. "But I sent a PDF file yesterday with recipes they could follow," Sara added, drawing cheers from the crowd.
According to his daughter, the former has been making friends with other detainees, though many are French-speaking. "I don't know, maybe when he gets out he'll know how to speak Dutch," she joked.
Strict regulations, preparations
Duterte's detention conditions are strictly regulated. On March 27, just a day before his 80th birthday, the ICC reportedly denied Sara permission to bring in four suitcases and a balikbayan box intended for the former president, according to a News 5 report. Earlier, his common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, was also denied a visit.
The vice president — who flew to The Hague a day after her father's arrest — is helping assemble the former president's defense team and has indicated she will stay there until it is complete.
Duterte's lead counsel, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, earlier said he was "very confident [Duterte would] be acquitted ... at the earliest stage.”
While she often recounts moments of levity inside the facility, Sara also said that her father remains intensely focused on his case, which he says has no legal basis.
The former president has constantly claimed to have been forced to surrender and "often says he wants to be tried in a Filipino court before a Filipino judge and a Filipino prosecutor," the vice president said.
Duterte appeared before the court for the first time in his initial appearance hearing on March 14. The next hearing — which will deal with the confirmation of charges — has been tentatively set on September 23.
"He is doing okay. But as a lawyer, he knows the law, so he's quite persuasive. And he always repeats what needs to be done for his case," the vice president said.
"He always asks about timelines because we all know courts can be quite slow, right?"
