VICE President Sara Duterte said her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is expected to spend the Christmas season in The Hague, Netherlands, where he remains in detention.
The Vice President said they were informed by her father’s lawyer that the former president will most likely celebrate the holidays there. Although she has not spoken with him recently, she said her youngest sister, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, stays in touch and knows more about his condition.
“Kasi naka on-deck na si Veronica, si Kitty para magpasko at mag New Year doon sa Hague magkikita si Veronica at si Mira (Because Veronica, Kitty, is already set to spend Christmas and New Year in The Hague, where Veronica and Mira will meet),” he said in a media interview on October 15 in Zamboanga City, referring to her sisters’ planned visit.
Sara said her father’s brother frequently visits him in detention, while Kitty maintains regular communication.
When asked about the defense team’s chances in the ongoing case, she said she could not assess since only the prosecution has access to the case documents.
“Those documents have not been shared with my father’s lawyer,” she said.
The Vice President also warned that any sanction or disqualification of Duterte’s lawyer would be a major setback, as it would require forming a new legal team.
She noted that the Philippine government’s actions, including a Senate resolution calling for house arrest on humanitarian grounds, have already reached the International Criminal Court (ICC). She described the former president as a frail 80-year-old with a verified illness, citing laboratory results reviewed by doctors.
When asked if she would consider appealing to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on her father’s behalf, Sara said she would not.
“At trabaho niya yun in a sense na inaprubahan niya na hindi niya dapat ginawa bilang isang pangulo (That was his job, in a sense that he approved something he should not have done as president)," she said. "Kung ano man yung problema, legal problem ni dating Pangulong Duterte ngayon ay problema na yun niya at syempre ng pamilya namin dahil ama namin siya. Pero for me, to go to him and request him on behalf of President Duterte, no. Because there’s no going back sa ginawa nila na rendition (Whatever legal problem former President Duterte is facing now is his problem and ours, as a family, because he is our father. But for me to go to him and request on behalf of former President Duterte, no. There’s no going back from what they did),” she said.
FPRRD has been detained in The Hague since March 12, 2025, and made his first appearance before the ICC via video link two days later.
Earlier that day, Vice President Duterte led a tree-planting activity as part of her pledge to plant one million trees in six years, a target she said she has already met in just three years. RGP