Rodrigo Duterte's initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands on March 14, 2025. Handout/ICC via Flickr

Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s initial appearance took place on Friday, 14 March 2025, at 14:00 hours (The Hague local time), before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "Court").

Initial appearance of Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte

Agence France-Presse

Zen Hernandez

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174274454354054386604645_77189866b3_o.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands on March 14, 2025. Handout/ICC via Flickr"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands on March 14, 2025. <em>Handout/ICC via Flickr</em></span></span></span></div><p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) - Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte believes he has no case to answer at the International Criminal Court, Vice President Sara Duterte said Sunday, and is confident he has a strong legal argument.</p><p>The vice president told reporters her father was now in better health after appearing fatigued and dazed at his first hearing at the ICC.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s very confident about the legal arguments. He&#x27;s very confident... that what they did was wrong and there is no case to begin with,&quot; Duterte told reporters.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/duterte-arrest-constitutes-extraordinary-rendition-vp-sara-1338">READ: Duterte arrest constitutes &#x27;extraordinary rendition,&#x27; says VP Sara</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/palace-says-duterte-arrest-in-compliance-with-law-1632">READ: Palace says Duterte arrest in compliance with law</a></div><p>The Vice President said her father continues to ask her about the timelines and legal strategies of his legal defense team.</p><p>She told scores of supporters gathered in Het Malieveld at the city center of The Hague, Netherlands to continue calling on the ICC and the Philippine government to send her father back home.</p><p>“Isa yan sa paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi, kelan mo ako mapapalabas dito? Dahil malapit na ang eleksyon, mag mayor pa ako ng syudad ng Davao,” Duterte said before a crowd chanting “Bring him home! Bring him home!”</p><p>The 79-year-old former president faces a charge of crimes against humanity tied to his &quot;war on drugs&quot; in which thousands were killed.</p><p>He is currently in a detention center in The Hague, awaiting a confirmation of charges hearing on September 23, where he will have the opportunity to contest the accusations against him.</p><p>Duterte was bundled into a plane in Manila and brought to the Hague via Dubai, appearing barely awake at his initial hearing two days later.</p><p>But his daughter, who said she saw him on Saturday, said: &quot;He feels better now and thankfully the doctors and the nurses are taking good care of him.&quot;</p><p>She had previously revealed that her father&#x27;s main complaint was the Dutch food served in the center.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s getting rice. That&#x27;s what we asked for and it&#x27;s cooked perfectly. Correct according to Filipino taste,&quot; said Sara Duterte.</p><p>He was asking for his personal clothes and a supply of diet cola, she said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/sara-duterte-wants-ph-to-move-on-after-duterte-s-arrest-1841">READ: Sara Duterte wants PH to &#x27;move on&#x27; after father&#x27;s arrest</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/22/lawyers-victims-kin-welcome-icc-order-for-rules-to-let-them-participate-in-duterte-case-1349">READ: Lawyers, victims&#x27; kin welcome ICC order for rules to let them participate in Duterte case</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/22/lawyers-victims-kin-welcome-icc-order-for-rules-to-let-them-participate-in-duterte-case-1349"></a><strong>EARLY BIRTHDAY GREETINGS</strong></div><p>Supporters numbering in the thousands, according to to organizers, said they came from as far as Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other countries in Europe to The Hague to show their support for the ex-president. </p><p>“I came all the way from Germany. Nandito kami hindi kami bayad to show our support kasi hindi deserve ni former President Rodrigo Duterte na ikulong dito sa Netherlands,” said Geraldine Klein.</p><p>“Worth it pagpunta namin dito. Masaya kaming makita si Vice President Sara Duterte..magpagaling si Tatay Digong lakas lang ng loob, iuwi namin siya,” said Marife Vanderborght from Belgium.</p><p>Rosa Cabrilles, a Filipino living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, gave early birthday greetings to Duterte who is spending his 80th birthday at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen on March 28, Friday.</p><p>“Happy birthday ‘tay Digong and be strong malalagpasan po natin ang laban,” she said. </p><p>Pro-Duterte demonstrators believe the former president was &quot;kidnapped&quot; to face the ICC, with his lawyer Salvador Medialdea telling the court on March 14 his client had been &quot;abducted from his country&quot;.</p><p>&quot;He was summarily transported to The Hague. To lawyers it&#x27;s extrajudicial rendition. For less legal minds, it&#x27;s pure and simple kidnapping,&quot; said Medialdea.</p><p>In the ICC chief prosecutor&#x27;s application for his arrest, he said Duterte&#x27;s alleged crimes were &quot;part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in the Philippines&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated,&quot; the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.</p><div><strong>KITTY DUTERTE TO GO TO THE HAGUE</strong></div><p>In her speech, Vice President Duterte said that while many people are urging her to run for President in 2028, she would always give the same answer.</p><p>“Yung nagsasabi sa ‘kin tumakbo ka sa 2028, I don’t think we will have a country by 2028.,” she said.</p><p>When asked by the media whether she is feeling anger, the Vice President said she has “no time to be angry.” </p><p>“There’s no time to be angry right now. So I just feel that, I just need to set up the system here in the Hague so that I can go back home because I have an impeachment case as well that I need to attend to and I have an office, which has projects that I need to be doing. So I just need to set up the system here so I can go back and forth with my case, his case, my work,” the Vice President said.</p><p>The Vice President also said that her sister, Veronica Duterte, will be coming to the Hague soon to accompany her in visiting their father.</p><p>“My two brothers, they don’t have visas at the moment. So it’s only my sister who can come and she’s coming right before the birthday of President Duterte and she’s staying until her birthday because her birthday is on the first week of May,” she said.</p><p>“We made a schedule of taking turns in talking to him. So I gave more of the time to my sister since she’s living with him back in the Philippines. So they have more of that family connection,” she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2L_YxryOu0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>"He's very confident about the legal arguments. He's very confident... that what they did was wrong and there is no case to begin with," Vice President Sara Duterte told reporters.</p>

"He's very confident about the legal arguments. He's very confident... that what they did was wrong and there is no case to begin with," Vice President Sara Duterte told reporters.

Ex-president Duterte confident he has 'no case' to answer at ICC, says VP Sara | ABS-CBN

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Ex-president Duterte confident he has 'no case' to answer at ICC, says VP Sara

Ex-president Duterte confident he has 'no case' to answer at ICC, says VP Sara

Agence France-Presse,

Zen Hernandez,

Richard Carter

Published Mar 23, 2025 11:46 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 24, 2025 10:55 AM PHT

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