Duterte camp tells ICC: Malacañang won’t block interim release

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. ARCHIVE

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team has informed the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Malacañang will not oppose his request for interim release and transfer to a third country, even as his family raises alarm over his deteriorating health in detention. In a redacted document dated September 26, Duterte’s lead counsel, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, told the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber that the Marcos administration had “now contemplated without objection” the request for temporary liberty. He cited remarks from Palace press officer Claire Castro, who on September 24 said: “Whatever the decision of the International Criminal Court, the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will accept it.” The defense argued this shows Manila would not stand in the way should Duterte, who surrendered to the ICC last March, be released and transferred abroad. Vice President Sara Duterte had earlier disclosed during a pro-Duterte rally in Japan that “one country has already said it’s okay” to host her father if the ICC approves his release. At the same time, the younger Duterte raised new health concerns, saying her 80-year-old father was recently found unconscious in his detention room and subjected to hospital tests. “Credible information received by the family from hospital sources reveals that Former President Duterte had to be subjected to laboratory tests after being found unconscious on the floor of his room,” she said in a statement on Saturday (September 27). She accused the Marcos government of authorizing “sham welfare checks” at the ICC detention center under the guise of consular functions, saying these visits endangered her father. “These are nothing but orders of President Marcos disguised as consular functions, and we strongly object to such visits. FPRRD does not need you, our family will take care of him,” the Vice President said. Kaufman confirmed his client collapsed in his cell. “As a result of one of these incidents, he lost consciousness and was evacuated to hospital where he was assessed for cranial and brain injury. None of this was reported either to the Defence team or to the family in real time,” the lawyer told media. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) defended the embassy’s visit, saying it was “professional, nonintrusive and respectful,” and underscored that such consular visits are carried out only “with the approval or at the request of the person in detention.” The ICC also refrained from commenting on Duterte’s medical condition. Spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told ABS-CBN News: “We don’t comment on private matters of the detainees. The Court takes all necessary measures for the preservation of physical and psychological wellbeing of all detainees.” Duterte faces accusations over thousands of killings during the Philippines’ “war on drugs” between 2011 and 2019. His lawyers are seeking adjournment of proceedings, claiming he suffers from “cognitive impairment in multiple domains,” rendering him unfit to stand trial. CAM/Expat Media