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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
June 23, 2025 | 1:00pm
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has been asking overseas Filipinos to convince their host countries' governments to challenge former President Rodrigo Duterte's continued detention at the International Criminal Court.
Speaking before a crowd of Filipinos in Melbourne over the weekend, Sara said she was there to raise awareness on her father's ICC case and encouraged overseas Filipinos to do the same by reaching out to the Australian government.
Sara had specific requests for Filipinos in Australia: "You convince the government of Australia, because Australia is a member of the ICC, to look into the case of President Duterte and the injustice that he is receiving, that he's been getting from the ICC."
Filipinos in Australia part of various human rights groups had earlier written to the country's minister for home affairs to oppose Sara's visit. They said in a joint letter that Sara's ongoing campaign to discredit the ICC and mobilize diaspora support for her father "through falsehoods" undermined international justice principles valued by countries like Australia.
RELATED: Sara trip to Australia spawns concern from Filipino rights defenders there
Melba Marginson, lead convenor of the Australians for Philippine Human Rights Network, told Philstar.com that Sara is "currently polarising Filipino-Australian politics" and that they tried to stop her visit given Australia's history of cancelling visas for "human rights offenders visiting to speak at public events."
Reversed positions
It's a clear reversal of fortune for the Dutertes, whose patriarch had expelled Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox from the Philippines in 2018 for allegedly engaging in political activities.
Fox, who spent nearly three decades working with the poor in the Philippines, was detained and ordered deported by then-President Rodrigo after she joined rallies and fact-finding missions investigating human rights abuses.
The elder Duterte admitted he ordered Fox's investigation, calling her an "undesirable alien" with a "foul mouth."
Fox was ultimately forced to leave the Philippines in November 2018 after losing a six-month legal battle.
The Australian nun was among the 16 Filipino-Australians who signed the joint letter to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke opposing Sara's visit.
The signatories described the vice president's trip as "a politically motivated campaign tour by individuals who have long been associated with authoritarianism, human rights abuses, disinformation, and systemic impunity."
Specific lobbying instructions
In her speech on Sunday's "Free Duterte Now" rally, Sara outlined a set of actions for Filipinos in Australia who would like to support her father's release.
She told the crowd to draft position papers, coordinate with local media, and use social media to build international support for the former president.
"Come together. Sit down. Come up with a position paper. Bring his case to the local Australian media. Bring his case to the global community through your social media accounts. That is what we need to do for the foreign governments," Sara said in her speech.
The vice president acknowledged traveling to Australia specifically for her father's ICC case, not for official government business. "Wala po ako dito for the interim release. Pero nandito po ako dahil sa International Criminal Court at sa kaso ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte," she told the crowd.
She also regaled the Filipinos there with descriptions of her father's condition in detention, saying he has become much thinner under ICC custody.
RELATED: Ex-president Rodrigo Duterte turns 80 in ICC detention
The vice president also said that Filipino workers worldwide hold significant economic leverage and that if they "stop working for just one day," the entire world would be affected.
Sara's legal arguments
Sara also cast herself not as a daughter lamenting her father's detainment at the ICC but as a lawyer who understood the supposed violations in his case.
"Not because, ma'am, anak ko, ma'am, ha? But because I am a lawyer. And I knew that what they were doing was wrong. Because they were supposed to bring him to a local court, to a Filipino court," she told the crowd.
Legal experts have clarified that there was nothing irregular or illegal about Rodrigo's arrest in Manila and subsequent transfer to The Hague in March.
Lawyer Joel Butuyan, an ICC-accredited counsel, said in a March Palace briefing that authorities were not obligated to present Rodrigo before a local court to assess the legality of his arrest.
Butuyan cited the ICC's 2015 Ongwen case, which determined that arresting countries are "not required to follow the procedure under Article 59" of the Rome Statute as long as key provisions — verifying the suspect's identity and ensuring their rights are upheld — are observed.
On Sunday, Filipinos part of the Filipino Australians for Justice, Accountability and Peace (FAJAP) staged a different protest at the steps of the Australian Parliament. They held banners that read: "Sara Not Welcome Here" and "Convict Sara Now!"
