THE HAGUE – Davao City Rep. Omar Duterte said he didn’t discuss the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber’s decision to reject former President Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal for interim release with his detained grandfather.
Omar, the son of Davao Rep. Paulo Duterte, said it was agreed that the former President’s visitors would not discuss the ICC chamber’s decision upholding the Pre-Trial Chamber’s denial of his request for interim release.
He was with his wife and two children when they visited Duterte in The Hague penitentiary while facing charges of crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder in connection with the killings under his administration’s war on drugs.
“Pagpasok namin, nag-agree kami na wag munang pag-usapan ‘yung kay lolo. Although alam niya today na may appeal hearing. Nag-focus na lang kami sa family, joke-joke. Pero malalaman naman niya ‘yan in the coming days,” Omar told GMA Integrated News.
(When we went in, we agreed not to discuss the result of the judgment with grandpa for now. Although he knows today that there is an appeal hearing. We just focused on the family, joking around. But he will find out in the coming days.
Omar and his family visited the former president at Scheveningen Prison at 15:30 Hague time, following the appellate court’s delivery of its decision on the appeal.
The congressman said he is wondering why the appellate chamber still considered the former president a “high-risk individual” when he was already “frail”.
“Ipinagtatataka ko na paano nila masabi na high risk siya na, eh kung tatayo siya sa upuan kailangan pang tulungan. Paano yun naging flight risk?” Omar said.
(I wonder how they can say he’s a high risk, when if he stands up from the seat he still needs help. How did that become a flight risk?)
When asked about how the former president would spend Christmas, Omar said the family has yet to discuss who among them would come visit.
He and his family would return to the Philippines on Saturday. –NB, GMA Integrated News
