VP Sara: ICC is only going after the black race
"President Duterte is the Asian poster boy in answer to the attacks that the ICC is only going after the Black race."
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Daily Tribune"President Duterte is the Asian poster boy in answer to the attacks that the ICC is only going after the Black race."
Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) refused to grant former President Rodrigo Duterte interim release because of what she described as a racist motive behind the tribunal's actions.
Speaking before Duterte supporters during a rally in The Hague, the vice president criticized the ICC's investigation into her father, questioned the court's jurisdiction over the Philippines, defended the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign, and accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of collaborating with the tribunal.
Criticism of the ICC
Duterte claimed the ICC was keeping the former president in detention to counter criticism over the court's prosecution record.
"President Duterte is the Asian poster boy in answer to the attacks that the ICC is only going after the Black race," she said.
She continued by claiming that the ICC had shifted its attention to an Asian leader while avoiding Western countries.
"Oh, we have an Asian now. We're done with the Blacks. Let's go to the Asians. To hell with the whites. We cannot go after them. Let's go after this one person who was delivered by Marcos to us," she said.
The vice president also criticized former ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, arguing that his previous work representing alleged victims of extrajudicial killings created a conflict of interest. She said that while the ICC did not explicitly declare Khan to have a conflict of interest, it only acknowledged an "appearance of impropriety."
Duterte also questioned the ICC's jurisdiction over countries that have already withdrawn from the Rome Statute, citing the Philippines as an example. She argued that because the country had already withdrawn, the tribunal should no longer have authority to pursue the case.
"It means that if you take it under consideration before withdrawal of a country, there will always be an open complaint, open under consideration, open investigation through the years even if the ICC will not act on it," she said.
"Otherwise, it will be 300 years from now, assuming this ICC will exist for 300 years, there will be an open under consideration, complete communication inside the ICC," she added.
'Kidnap' narrative and interim release
The vice president reiterated the Duterte family's claim that the former president was "kidnapped" and argued that he qualifies for interim release under the Rome Statute.
She cited the three conditions for interim release under the Rome Statute, saying Duterte is not a flight risk, cannot obstruct the ongoing investigation, and cannot continue committing crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction.
"They say it doesn't matter to us how he was taken, where he was taken, by what means he was taken. If this is about justice, then why does it allow injustice to happen to people who are respondents of communications of complaints inside the ICC?" she said.
Duterte also argued that her father's age and physical condition make him incapable of fleeing.
"Is that a person who is a flight risk? He cannot even walk three steps," she said.
Marcos, Trillanes accused of aiding ICC
The vice president accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of working with the ICC against the former president.
She further alleged that the ICC had become a "puppet" of Marcos and Trillanes, and cited claims by individuals she referred to as the "maleta boys," who allegedly said suitcases containing money were delivered to ICC investigators. She did not present evidence supporting the allegation during this portion of her speech.
"Yes, they are traitors to a Filipino and to the country. But more than that, the ICC is a puppet of Trillanes and Marcos," she said.
Defense of Duterte's drug war
Duterte defended her father's anti-illegal drug campaign, arguing that implementing a "zero tolerance for illegal drugs" policy does not amount to crimes against humanity.
"It is called a drug war. Now, the implementation of a program, whether it was good or bad, is not a crime against humanity. It may be good governance or bad governance," she said.
She also questioned whether the deaths cited in the ICC case could all be directly linked to the anti-drug campaign, arguing that gun violence remains widespread in the Philippines.
"They cannot even say right now if the victims are truly victims of the drug war because gun violence is so common in the Philippines," she said.
To illustrate her point, Duterte gave a hypothetical example, claiming that someone could allegedly hire a gunman for P5,000 to kill another person.
"I have a husband. My husband has a mistress. I can hire a gunman for P5,000 to kill the mistress. That is how bad gun violence in the Philippines is," she said.
