The Hague, Netherlands — This September 24, 2025, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conducted a consular visit to check the welfare of former President Rodrigo “Digong” R. Duterte (FPRRD) who was detained at an International Criminal Court (ICC) detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands.
According to the DFA, the consular visit that happened to FPRRD was in line with their function under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos.
“Officials from the Philippine Embassy in The Hague visited former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Detention Center of the International Criminal Court to conduct a welfare check. This is in line with its function under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos,” DFA Spokesperson Angelica Escalona said.
DFA also said that it is a duty practiced by all Philippine Embassies and Consulates and there is nothing irregular about it as they also do this for other Filipino citizens who were detained abroad.
Their statements debunked the allegations of FPRRD’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, that the visit was under false pretense of a welfare check as it happened without permission from the former President’s family.
Meanwhile, ICC Spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said that any ICC Detention Center visit is conducted strictly with the approval or at the request of the person in detention.
“ICC acts in accordance with the ICC Rome Statute and relevant applicable rules and follows the international standards of detained persons having access to consular representatives. Such visits, if any, are strictly conducted with the approval or at the request of the person in detention,” ICC Spokesperson Abdallah said.
Former President Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, 2025 on the basis of an arrest warrant by the ICC and was flown to the Netherlands that same night.
The ICC detained him at the Scheveningen Prison while awaiting trial for charges and they started their investigation on the massive drug killings as possible crimes against humanity. – Rose Anne C. Palma, EUROTV News Contributor