Sara raises concerns over 'welfare checks' on father

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said that she received disturbing information from Malacañang that a report about her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by the Philippine Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands.

"The officials entered the detention unit under the false pretense of conducting a 'welfare check' and interviewed FPRRD [Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte]," Duterte said in a statement, adding that the officials clearly abused the rule of the detention unit concerning consular visits.

The Office of the Vice President, however, did not mention the government officials who visited the former president at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention unit.

The younger Duterte said that since her father was arrested and brought to The Hague in March this year, there has always been at least a family member or two who visit the former president almost every day precisely to guarantee his well-being and humane treatment.

"The permission given by the ICC in allowing the agents of the very government that abducted FPRRD to intrude upon him, without seeking permission from family members who are in The Hague, places his life and safety in imminent danger," she said.

Duterte emphasized that her father does not need the Philippine government to visit him and that their family will be the ones to take care of him.

"If such sham 'welfare checks' are allowed to continue, then the ICC and the Philippine Government must be prepared to answer, fully and directly, for any harm that comes to Former President Duterte — including, should the worst happen, his death in custody as a direct result of these intrusions, the false pretense of conducting a 'welfare check.' 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," she said.

"President Marcos should know that we have several Overseas Filipinos around the world — detained, distressed, abandoned, or neglected — who have not had the benefit of a single welfare check from the Philippine government. They need you but you have failed them," the Vice President added.

The former president, who was arrested on 11 March 2025 based on a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, is now detained in The Hague, Netherlands, for alleged crimes against humanity due to his bloody war on illegal drugs.