Sara Duterte: Rallies for father at ICC may hurt his case

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte said she has informed her father of the ongoing risk of supporters holding rallies outside the International Criminal Court, as she says the court uses their public remarks during the demonstrations as a "basis" for decisions. Another "Free Duterte Now" rally is set for Wednesday, July 29, in front of the ICC, where former President Rodrigo Duterte has been detained since March 2025 on crimes against humanity charges tied to his war on drugs. The vice president has often joined her supporters or spoken off-the-cuff at these public protests during her trips to the Netherlands. "I informed President Duterte of this and I told him, I do not think this will help your case," Duterte told a crowd of supporters on Monday, July 27, after visiting her father in the ICC detention facility. Statements made at earlier Duterte rallies outside the court, Duterte said, have ended up cited as basis for its rulings. "We've noticed that the ICC quotes what we say. And they use it as basis for their decisions," she said. Duterte said her father asked: "Bakit pa kayo mag-rally? What for?" The vice president said she told him the rally would let the world hear Filipinos' anger over how he was treated. "And then sabi niya, okay, bahala kayo kung 'yan ang gusto ninyo. But I warned him that it will not help his case," Duterte said, adding that her father said to go ahead with the planned protest anyway. Duterte has not been seen in public since March 2025, when he appeared via video-link during an initial appearance hearing before the ICC pre-trial chamber. In September 2025, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber rejected Duterte's bid for temporary release, saying his continued detention was necessary under the Rome Statute's flight-risk provisions. The three-judge panel had pointed to the elder Duterte's description of his own arrest as "a pure and simple kidnapping" and his family's public demands that he be returned to the Philippines, and public remarks by the vice president. The Appeals Chamber upheld that ruling in November. The court's next status conference in the case is scheduled for September 16, when judges have said they expect Duterte to appear unless a medical issue prevents it.