Sara, Paolo off to Netherlands

MANILA, Philippines —   Hours after their father was flown to The Hague to face the International Criminal Court (ICC), siblings Vice President Sara Duterte and Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte are Netherlands-bound to assist former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The Vice President left Manila at 7:40 a.m. yesterday on an Emirates flight bound for Amsterdam, according to her office.

While the OVP did not say how long she would be overseas, it noted that her scheduled appearance at the Araw ng Dabaw festivities in Davao City on March 16 and 17 has been canceled.

She arrived at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on the night of March 11, less than two hours before the plane carrying her father took off.

Despite being barred entry, she said she was able to instruct her father about what to do and say to his lawyers.

Meanwhile, Congressman Duterte was granted travel clearance to visit his father, after writing to Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“This representation seeks the issuance of a revised travel clearance for my personal trip to the Netherlands and Japan from 12 March to 15 of April,” Duterte said in his letter dated March 11 to Romualdez, seen by reporters.

The Davao lawmaker assured Romualdez that the expenses to be incurred from the trip would be paid for by “personal funds alone.”

House secretary-general Reginald Velasco told reporters in a phone patch interview that they fully understood the lawmaker’s situation; hence clearance was granted, but only until April 15.

Rep. Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list, who heads the House committee on foreign workers affairs, said congressmen like them ask for a “travel clearance” from the Speaker if the trip is a personal one, while “travel authority” is sought for official business transactions.

“I don’t think there’s an exception or exemption. All government employees and officials, whether elected or not, apply for travel clearance and travel authority. It’s because we can be barred by immigration agents in the airport,” he said.

Rep. Jil Bongalon of Ako Bicol party-list explained that the rationale behind this protocol is that public employees, more particularly elected officials, have a mandate or job to fulfill that they should return home.

“Imagine if a mayor leaves his town for a long time?” Bongalon asked.

‘Join your father in jail’

Commenting on Sara’s trip to The Hague, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said she deserves to be with her father before the ICC.

“Be practical as a family. Sara Duterte should join Digong (Rodrigo Duterte) in jail. Besides the impeached VP, as former mayor of Davao City, she has also been an implementor of (the) fake war on drugs, that is why she is one of those named in ICC documents,” he said in a statement.

“If she can stop the impeachment trial in the Senate and she does not want to face it, she has no choice in the ICC that will have her arrested like her father,” he added.

Manuel went on to ask the Dutertes to have pity on the people.

“Don’t create trouble. Address first your cases instead of preparing for the 2028 elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Kabataan representative Sarah Elago blasted the Vice President for calling the older Duterte’s arrest a “state kidnapping,” something which is insulting to the families of drug war victims.

“While Vice President Duterte cries oppression, we must remember that her father will have lawyers, will be housed in a facility that meets international standards and will have every opportunity to defend himself,” she said.

“Sovereignty is not a shield for impunity; it should serve to uphold the rights and dignity of every citizen,” Bayan Muna chairman and Makabayan senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño said in a separate statement.

‘No talking’

Asked whether she spoke to President Marcos regarding her father’s arrest, Duterte said no as “there’s no talking” to him, implying he can’t be reasoned with.

“President Marcos and I have not spoken. There’s no talking to someone who does not follow through with his promises,” she said, referring to the President’s unfulfilled promises he made during the campaign in 2022 such as the P20 per kilo of rice.

She said Marcos had the power to stop Philippine authorities from arresting her father and taking him to The Hague, stressing how surrendering a citizen to the ICC – to which the country was no longer a party – was “illegal and wrong.”

“It’s very easy for him to say ‘do not turn (Duterte) over to the ICC. You can detain him here, wherever in the Philippines, but do not send him wherever the ICC wants him,’” Duterte said.

“There is no legal basis at all to turn over or to endorse former president Duterte to the ICC. They would do whatever they want to do even if it’s wrong,” she added.

The Vice President added that her father’s arrest was a signal that the Marcos administration was worried about its senatorial lineup losing to that of PDP-Laban, former president Duterte’s political party.

“It appears that they will lose in the midterm elections because candidates of PDP-Laban are getting strong block votes. This is all about the 2028 elections,” she said.

She added that the public should be wary about attempts of the administration to rig the elections to its advantage.

Candles for Duterte

In Zamboanga City, Muslim and Christian Duterte supporters staged a candle lighting rally on Tuesday evening.

“Duterte! Duterte! Duterte!” the residents chanted, as they converged in a parking area of a mall in Barangay Tetuan.

Some brought small banners that read “We stand by you FPRRD” alongside lighted candles to share their sympathies. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Roel Pareño, Rudy Santos