Sara Duterte decries father’s arrest as ‘oppression, persecution’

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday night, March 11, decried the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, as “oppression and persecution” following a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the drug war that killed thousands.

“Today, our own government has surrendered a Filipino citizen — even a former President at that — to foreign powers. This is a blatant affront to our sovereignty and an insult to every Filipino who believes in our nation’s independence,” Sara Duterte said.

The Vice President stated that her father was denied his fundamental rights when arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday morning, after arriving from Hong Kong, where he had spent the weekend attending a “thanksgiving” event with overseas Filipino workers.

“Since he was taken this morning, he has not been brought before any competent judicial authority to assert his rights and to allow him to avail of reliefs provided by law. As I write this, he is being forcibly taken to The Hague tonight. This is not justice — this is oppression and persecution,” Sara Duterte said.

“This act shows the world that this government is willing to abandon its own citizen and betray the very essence of our sovereignty and national dignity,” the Vice President added.

Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest followed years of investigation by the ICC into the brutal drug war, which human rights groups say claimed close to 30,000 lives. The arrest is seen as a form of justice and vindication for the families of victims of extrajudicial killings who have long sought accountability from the former president.

Earlier today, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile clarified that the current legal problem of the former president was not caused by the Philippine government.

“His legal problem is caused by laws enforceable by the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is not correct to blame the Philippine government for the current legal problem of ex-PRRD,” Enrile said.

In an Instagram story on Tuesday night, Kitty Duterte, the youngest daughter of the former president, claimed her father was being forced to board a plane despite “getting weaker by the minute.”

“They are taking him to a plane by force without considering his health conditions,” she said. Earlier, government medical doctors cleared him, saying that he was in good health.

As of this posting, reports indicate that a chartered plane is ready to fly Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague to face the ICC trial. – Rappler.com