Sara seeks Australia’s help for Duterte

Sara seeks Australia’s help for Duterte | Daily Tribune

Vice President Sara Duterte has appealed to the Australian government to intervene in the case of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Speaking before a crowd of Filipino supporters at Parliament Gardens in Melbourne, Sara said one of the main reasons for her visit to Australia — aside from personally thanking Filipinos for their continued support — was to seek Australia’s help regarding what she called the illegal rendition and detention of her father.

“I am appealing to the Australian government, a close ally of the Philippines, to intervene in the case of my father,” Sara told the chanting crowd at the “Free Duterte Now” rally.

Organizers described the event as a “people’s movement” for unity, truth and justice. The rally was spearheaded by the Filipino community in Australia, who expressed support for the former president, now facing trial for alleged crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs.

The group Duterte Down Under, based in Sydney, described the rally as a chance to build national solidarity among supporters of the former Philippine leader.

“This is a good opportunity for Duterte supporters not only from Melbourne but from all over Australia to come together and call on the ICC to free FPRRD (Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte),” the group said in a statement.

Supporters from Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Darwin were expected to join the mass gathering.

“This is also a much-awaited event because VP Inday Sara is here for the first time, and many Duterte supporters are excited to see her. Through this gathering, we want to show that many Filipino-Australians continue to support Duterte and recognize what he has done for our country,” the group added.

The rally has fueled speculation that the ICC might grant Duterte interim release and transfer him to an ICC member country like Australia while awaiting trial. A source close to the Vice President said the event could be laying the groundwork for that possibility.

“Australia has consistently provided financial support to the ICC and plays a major role in electing its judges and prosecutors,” the source said. “Being a party to the Rome Statute, Australia exercises jurisdiction over crimes like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

But Sara Duterte reiterated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, emphasizing that the country has a fully functioning legal system.

“There’s not a single case filed in our courts against the former President in relation to the drug war,” she stressed.

The Vice President also criticized what she described as the ICC’s bias, pointing out that those detained alongside her father in The Hague were mostly French-speaking African leaders — with no Western leaders among them.

She also claimed the ICC’s arrest of her father was politically motivated, noting that it happened just as he began campaigning for PDP Laban candidates in the midterm elections.

“The duty of the state is to protect its citizens at all costs, even to pay ‘blood money’ to bring them back. The state must never submit to foreign jurisdiction — that is basic to any sovereign government,” Sara said.