Vice President Sara Duterte is the next high-ranking official in the crosshairs of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Senator Imee Marcos.
Marcos revealed on Tuesday that VP Duterte’s name is on the ICC’s list of individuals to be arrested in connection with the crimes against humanity charges tied to the war on drugs of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Several weeks ago, we heard about a draft warrant involving five police officers, including Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa. Now, there are fresh rumors that the Vice President may be issued a warrant very soon,” Marcos said during a press briefing.
“We know that VP Sara is on the list. She’s lower down, but just recently there were reports that she might actually be the first target,” she added.
‘It’s not just me. My name is far down the list,’ Duterte said. ‘Ahead of me are Senator De la Rosa, former PNP chiefs Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao, and Gerandy Caramat.’
In an earlier media interview in Cebu City, Vice President Duterte confirmed that she had seen her name on the list of those wanted by the ICC.
“I believe they were listening to our conversations, thinking we were discussing the case and our strategy here in the Philippines,” she said about the times she visited her father in his detention at the ICC in The Hague.
“It’s not just me. My name is far down the list,” Duterte said. “Ahead of me are Senator De la Rosa, former PNP chiefs Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao, and Gerandy Caramat.”
She said Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, a long-time Duterte ally, was also on the list.
“They come first, before me,” she said.
De la Rosa led the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018 and was the face of the Duterte administration’s bloody “Oplan Tokhang” anti-drug campaign.
Albayalde succeeded him but stepped down in 2019 amid a separate controversy.
Before becoming Vice President, Sara Duterte served as mayor of Davao City while her father was vice mayor.
These individuals had been named co-perpetrators in the ICC’s public arrest warrant application, although their names were redacted in the official document for safety reasons.
According to official data, fewer than 7,000 individuals were killed during the Duterte administration’s drug war. However, human rights groups both locally and internationally estimate the true number may be as high as 30,000, most of them poor and marginalized.