That former President Rodrigo Duterte may be brought to The Hague in the Netherlands is “state kidnapping,” his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said Wednesday evening.
“Sinasabi ko sa inyong lahat Pilipino kayo ‘wag kayong pumayag na ang isang Pinoy ibigay sa sa mga dayuhan lalo na pag labas na sa batas ‘yun. This is actually some sort of state kidnapping. Parang ganyan na nangyayari,” Duterte told the media.
(I’m telling you all, Filipinos, don’t let a Filipino be taken away by foreigners, especially if it has no legal basis. This is actually some sort of state kidnapping. That seems to be what’s going on.)
“And all because mukhang matatalo sila midterm elections dahil ang lakas ng vote straight sa ating candidate sa PDP Laban,” she added.
(And all because it looks like they will lose the midterm election because voting straight in the PDP Laban is strong.)
The elder Duterte, who was arrested Tuesday morning on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, was transferred from NAIA upon landing to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
From there, he was placed on a plane that took off Tuesday evening for the Dutch city—the hub of international law, and where the ICC is located.
Earlier today, the camp of the former president filed a petition asking the Supreme Court (SC) to direct the government to release him.
The Vice President, who was denied entry to Villamor, added that if no temporary restraining order is issued, “Hindi ko alam, hawakan ko ba yung gulong ng airplane na yan?”
(I don’t know, should I hold on to the the airplane’s wheels?)
She also said there is “no legal basis to endorse or turn over” the former President to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC pre-trial chamber looking into the case of the former president found reasonable grounds to believe he was “individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder” in connection with the killings blamed on his war on drugs, which led to his arrest.
Facing the media late Tuesday evening, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the arrest was proper and correct. — BM, GMA Integrated News
