Sara Duterte visits Rodrigo Duterte at ICC

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday visited her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Detention Center in The Hague, Netherlands.

Duterte shared brief updates about her father’s condition, family matters, and politics during her visit.

“Well, today is a good day. Maganda yung usapan namin sa politika. May konting usapan about sa pamilya, pero karamihan sa politics at kung ano yung nangyayari,” she told reporters in an ambush interview.

Duterte, however, said that they did not discuss the ICC’s rejection of the interim release request.

The ICC Appeals Chamber on Friday denied Duterte’s appeal of the earlier ruling that rejected his request for interim release.

The former president remains detained in The Hague on charges of alleged crimes against humanity stemming from drug war killings carried out during his administration.

In a statement, the Duterte family said it has accepted the decision of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court rejecting the appeal for the interim release of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The family accepts the ICC Appeals Chamber’s decision with peaceful hearts,” the Duterte family said.

The family added that they will continue working with Duterte’s defense team and will keep supporting the former president through their “daily conversations.”

“We thank everyone who prayed with us today,” the family said.

Meanwhile, Duterte also criticized the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for claiming that P500 is enough for a family to prepare a decent Noche Buena.

“Hindi totoo na kasya na ang Noche Buena sa 500 pesos. Matagal nang hindi kasya ang 500 pesos para sa Noche Buena ng pamilya. In fact, yung sa amin na pinamimigay kapag Pasko, nasa 2,100 na ’yon, ma’am. Ano ’yon, ma’am—spaghetti and yung salad pack,” she said.

Trade Secretary Cristina Roque earlier clarified that the P500 Noche Buena budget is intended for a basic Christmas meal for a small family.