Duterte ‘misses paksiw,’ VP Sara invites supporters for pre-birthday meet

A composite photo of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte at The Netherlands. HARRY ROQUE/ICC

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, now in his fourth day at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center, misses Filipino food, according to his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. “He looks well-rested, but he really misses Filipino food,” Sara Duterte told reporters outside the ICC after visiting her father on Friday (March 14). During the one-hour visit at the facility’s visiting area, Duterte told his daughter that he had been sleeping well and watching television but longed for home-cooked meals, particularly inun-unan, also known as paksiw, a fish dish cooked in vinegar. The older Duterte's last meal before landing in The Hague was a simple lunch of plain fried rice and paratha, a flatbread, alongside bottled water and fruit juice that he ate onboard a chartered plane on a refueling stop in Dubai. The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai and the Philippine Embassy explained that the former leader "personally requested for a hot rice meal". At the ICC Detention Centre, Duterte has the option to cook his own meals instead of the meals that are provided for free. According to Journalists for Justice, meals at the ICC detention are “tasteless Dutch food provided for free by the tribunal” and can be warmed in the microwave, which is why most detainees prefer to cook their own meals and order their own ingredients to use in the communal kitchen.

Duterte supporters invited to pre-birthday meet

Meanwhile, Vice President Duterte announced a casual meet-and-greet with supporters in The Netherlands on March 23, just days before Duterte’s 80th birthday on March 28. “Sabihin mo sa kanila, ‘Relax lang, may hangganan ang lahat. There will be a day of reckoning for all,’” she quoted her father as saying. Despite their conversation, Sara Duterte revealed that her father was adamant about one thing: “As a request, he asked me to go home. He repeatedly said, ‘Do not leave the Philippines.’” The Vice President explained that she had no choice but to stay in The Hague for now, as she is the only Duterte family member with a Schengen visa and legal background to assist in forming the defense team. Meanwhile, she addressed concerns over possible raids on their family homes, telling her siblings: “I told them to just allow the authorities to conduct their searches. We expect that there will be planted evidence.”

Inside Duterte’s detention center

Duterte is being held at Scheveningen Prison complex, a facility that once served as a Nazi prison and now houses the ICC dentention centre. Each detainee has a private cell equipped with a bed, desk, television, and intercom system. They have access to a library, computers, sports facilities, and a communal area with a foosball table and kitchen. If Duterte is unsatisfied with the meals, he can prepare his own food using a shopping list provided by the facility. ICA/CAM/Expat Media