MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has disclosed that her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has expressed a final wish: should he die while in detention in The Hague, The Netherlands, he wants to be cremated there — not repatriated to the Philippines.
“Nagbigay na siya ng kanyang mga huling habilin. Sabi niya, kung saan daw siya mamatay, doon daw siya i-cremate,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines) after visiting her father at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.
“Kung mamatay daw siya dito sa Netherlands, huwag na daw iuwi yung kanyang katawan sa Pilipinas — ipa-cremate lang daw siya dito,” she added.
The former president, now 80, is currently in detention at the facility where individuals indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are held. Duterte faces an ongoing investigation by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity during his bloody war on drugs.
The Vice President said she reminded her father that they would have to discuss the matter of cremation another time, citing her personal beliefs.
“Hindi ako pro-cremation, so sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘pag-usapan na lang natin ulit ‘yan sa ibang pagkakataon,’” she shared.
Duterte-Carpio said talking about such arrangements was “natural” considering her father’s age, and observed that while he had lost weight, his skin condition had “improved a lot.”
She arrived in The Hague on July 5 to make the most of the allowed visitation time and is expected to stay until July 23. After that, she is scheduled to attend a “Free Duterte Rally” in South Korea on July 28 — coinciding with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address./PN
