ICC should release ‘super senior’ Duterte – Sara

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should allow the interim release of her father, detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, for being a “super senior citizen” at the age of 80.

“For me, it will be beneficial for him as he is already 80 years old. Not all his needs as an 80-year-old can be provided inside the ICC detention unit,” the Vice President said.

The former president is formally seeking his interim release from detention at Prison Scheveningen in The Hague and transfer to an undisclosed country that is a member of the ICC.

In a 16-page urgent request for interim release dated June 12, Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman said the government of a country he did not identify has expressed willingness to receive the older Duterte into its territory.

“He is the first ICC detainee with such age. He is not only a senior, he can be called super senior since he is 80 years old. It is better to allow his interim release so that available nurses and caregivers will be available to assist him,” the Vice President said.

At the same time, she said that Filipino lawyers were assigned to handle the oath of the former president after he won the mayoralty race in Davao City.

She said the former president also failed to file a statement of contributions and expenditures.

“His oath is needed, that is why his lawyers cannot present it to the Commission on Elections,” she added.