KARAPATAN on the recent Duterte camp gimmick at the ICC
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS STATEMENT
28 September 2025
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
KARAPATAN on the recent Duterte camp gimmick at the ICC
Sara Duterte’s latest gimmick is to circulate allegations that Rodrigo Duterte had allegedly been found unconscious on the floor in his cell at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and had to be subjected to tests to ascertain his medical condition.
If this story is true, it would show that the ICC provided prompt medical attention to Duterte, which contradicts his daughter’s claims that her father is being neglected. She sounded all the more petty and incredible when she wailed that the ICC had not even attended to her father’s in-grown toenail.
This sudden turnaround from the Dutertes contradicts narratives from his visiting family members who have said that he is in reasonably good health for his age and is mentally alert.
Certainly, the former strongman is in a much better place than the ailing and elderly political prisoners he unjustly threw in jail who died in detention or have had to wait for court orders or be on the brink of death before they are brought to hospital.
The fact is that the Dutertes will stop at nothing to prevent the proceedings at the ICC from moving forward. They have filed motion after motion to delay, and lately, to adjourn the proceedings so that the confirmation of charges against Rodrigo Duterte does not push through, alleging cognitive deficiencies that adversely affect Duterte’s fitness to stand trial.
The ICC prosecutors have long been ready to proceed against Duterte. On the other hand, Duterte’s lawyers are hard put coming up with a credible defense. Their only recourse is to do away with the confirmation of charges and the trial altogether, because no matter what they do, their client will come out guilty as hell of crimes that are indefensible.
Duterte and his co-conspirators must suffer the consequences of their criminal acts. It is only a matter of time before members of his cabal, like Bato dela Rosa and former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, among others, are arrested and hauled to the ICC detention facility.
KARAPATAN stands firmly with the victims of Duterte’s drug war in relentlessly pursuing justice for their loved ones and exacting accountability from the masterminds and perpetrators.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.