The Vice President Sara Duterte has challenged Senator Imee Marcos that she should go home to former President Rodrigo Duterte's return to the Philippines. According to Sara, she was not the reason why her father was in The Hague, but rather it was an order from Imee's brother, President Bongbong Marcos, to have him arrested and turned over to Interpol and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Sara said this in her speech at the celebration of the 127th Independence Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She mentioned that she took Imee with her on her trips to Qatar and The Hague and jokingly said that “I am holding Imee hostage until Dad returns to Davao City.”
Rodrigo Duterte is currently incarcerated in The Hague due to cases related to the bloody anti-drug campaign. According to Sara, many foreigners are surprised that a country would surrender its own citizens to a foreign power.
On the other hand, the ICC prosecutor rejected the arguments of Duterte's defense. The ICC said that they still have jurisdiction over the case because the crimes occurred while the Philippines was a member of the Rome Statute. Even though the Philippines withdrew in 2019, it said, this does not mean that it no longer has responsibility for cases that began before it left.
Meanwhile, Honeylet Avanceña denied that they were selling Duterte's life story. They said they made no profit from the books that were scattered online and Duterte said that "my life story is only for my children." Some supporters will gather again in The Hague on Father's Day to call for his freedom.
