Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday confirmed that Australia is one of two countries being considered by her father’s legal team for his possible interim release while awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
“Australia is on the list of countries considered by the lawyers,” she told reporters during the Free Duterte Now rally at Parliament Gardens in this city.
On 12 June, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, formally asked the ICC to allow Duterte’s release to an undisclosed country, citing his poor health and arguing that the former president is not a flight risk.
“Of the two countries named in the petition, one has already committed to helping and accepting my father,” Sara said.
The Vice President admitted that she tried to set up a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong but was unable to secure one on short notice.
“I did reach out to Foreign Minister Penny Wong, but unfortunately she couldn’t meet with me on Monday,” she said.
Duterte earlier said she would ask the Australian government to look into her father’s arrest and detention, which she described as illegal and without jurisdiction, claiming the ICC has no authority over the Philippines.