Detained former president Rodrigo Duterte expressed his belief that the country is heading toward decline, citing “fractured governance” under the Marcos administration and claiming that Filipinos are becoming increasingly “disgruntled.”
Through Vice President Sara Duterte, who frequently visits him at the detention center in The Hague — where he faces trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the former President conveyed he has surrendered his fate to God, choosing to accept whatever comes his way.
“All he (Rodrigo Duterte) said was that the country will get worse and worse. According to him, the governance in our country is clearly fractured and the people are disgruntled. So, that’s what he said,” Sara said in a mix of English and Filipino during an ambush interview with Philippine media at The Hague on Friday.
“He said, ‘I will leave that all to God… I will leave it all to God all that will happen in my life. So be it,'” she added.
Earlier, the Vice President acknowledged the possibility that her father may not return to the Philippines from his trial for crimes against humanity, urging the country to move forward.
Clarifying her statement, Sara pointed out that it was about debating the legality of Duterte’s arrest in the Senate, which is now pointless.
While she continues to assert that what happened to her father was an act of “extraordinary rendition” or state-sponsored kidnapping, she emphasized that the only way forward is through the ICC’s legal process.
“What I meant back then is the discussion yesterday at the Senate hearing. They had a discussion if what was done was right, was it wrong, was it illegal, was it not illegal. Like I said, it was an extraordinary rendition,” Sara explained.
“So whatever they debate there, whether it was a kidnapping, it was an extraordinary rendition, it was correct or not correct, they cannot bring him back since he is already inside. They cannot retrieve and return him. The only way he can leave is through the system inside the ICC,” she added.