MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to expedite the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte, warning that the prolonged detention of the 81-year-old former leader could endanger his health as he continues to await trial in The Hague.
Speaking to reporters after visiting her father, Duterte-Carpio said the family is increasingly concerned over the length of the proceedings, noting that the former president has already spent more than a year in ICC custody while the trial is not expected to begin until November.
She said Rodrigo Duterte remains in generally stable condition despite developing a skin ailment that is currently being treated by the detention facility’s medical staff.
“We’re trying to ask the health unit of the detention what it is all about. But we appreciate that they did something about it,” she said.
According to the Vice President, doctors have prescribed a topical cream to treat the skin irritation.
“I understand there’s a cream applied on the skin, on the skin rash. I really don’t know what it is. So other than that, the usual aches and pains of an 81-year-old man and well yes, there’s no complaints right now about the weather because it’s not really cold here.”
Duterte-Carpio said the family hopes recent developments within the ICC, including changes in its leadership, could help accelerate the proceedings.
She stressed that her father “cannot afford to stay in detention for 3, 4, 5 years more,” urging the tribunal to resolve the case without unnecessary delay.
The Vice President also reiterated the family’s position that the former president’s transfer to ICC custody was unlawful, insisting he had been forcibly taken out of the Philippines.
“We are angry. The moment that he was taken, was kidnapped from the Philippines, and we are still angry now,” she said.
She likewise questioned whether ICC officials could remain completely impartial in handling the case.
“But of course, as a daughter, as Filipinos, we have feelings about how objective the ICC and the officials, people inside the ICC is about the case. And of course, we feel that there was really an injustice with how he was taken from our country,” she added.
Duterte-Carpio also revealed that she and the former president had discussed the possibility that he could die while in detention, saying he had already given instructions should that happen.
“There is always a possibility that he will pass inside the prison and that is something that I already discussed with President Duterte. That is why he gave his… instructions in case he dies in prison. But of course, as a Filipino, as a daughter, we want him to die in Philippine soil,” she said.
Former President Duterte has been under ICC custody since March 2025 following his arrest in connection with allegations linked to his administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign./PN
