Sara applying for legal aid?

The camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte is considering applying for legal aid at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said Thursday.

In a press conference via Zoom, Duterte said they had yet to discuss with their lawyer how much they would need to spend on the case.

“As of now, we have not discussed it with our lawyer, but I have already hinted to him that we might apply for legal aid with the ICC,” she said.

“We are continuously discussing this. Yesterday, we had a meeting, but we did not take up the topic of the budget. However, he knows about it because the other day, I already told him there is a high possibility that we will apply for legal aid and that this is not a privately funded case,” the Vice President added.

Responding to questions about whether she is still fulfilling her duties as Vice President, Duterte said she remains in constant communication with her colleagues at the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

“Whatever projects we have left within our small budget for this year are continuing,” Duterte said.

“I have daily communication with the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the Office of the Vice President. I just got this laptop so I can work on the office tasks that need to be done, including the meetings I have to attend as part of my job at the OVP,” she added.

“I perfectly understand that. In fact, I do not really want to stay here because my children and my family are in the Philippines, and my job is in the Philippines,” she said.

Duterte, however, emphasized that as Vice President, she also had a duty to a fellow Filipino who was forcibly taken into custody at the ICC. She maintained that the former president was illegally arrested and denied due process.

“As Vice President, I also have a duty to a fellow Filipino citizen who is being held against his will here at the ICC detention center,” she said.

“So, let’s not think of him as just my father. Let’s instead consider that I am the Vice President, and I am doing what I can to bring a Filipino citizen back to our country,” she added.

Duterte said there was no exact date for her return to the Philippines, as she was still finalizing the lineup of her father’s legal team.

“I have a return ticket for April, but I don’t know how long I will stay here because the legal team of former President Duterte is not yet complete,” she said.

“As Vice President, I have an obligation to put together his support group here so that there will be people helping him get out of the ICC detention center,” she added.