Palace on Sara Duterte's 'traitor' remark: Rodrigo to blame for ICC detention

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang rejected Vice President Sara Duterte's claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is a "traitor" to the Philippines.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Thursday, July 30, that Duterte's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, had only himself to blame for his detention at the ICC.

Castro said Marcos was still a private citizen when the first complaint against the former president was filed before the ICC.

"Hindi ito kasalanan ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. Tumutupad lang ang pangulo sa batas. Kung mayroong dapat sisihin, walang iba kun'di ang kanyang sariling ama dahil sa mga pag-amin nito na siya mismo ay pumatay at nagpapatay kasama ang mga co-perpetrators," Castro said.

("This is not President Marcos Jr.'s fault. The president is only following the law. If anyone should be blamed, it is no one but her own father because of his admissions that he himself killed and ordered killings, along with his co-perpetrators.")

Duterte made the remark in a speech before supporters of her family in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 29, accusing Marcos and former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV of helping the ICC pursue the crimes against humanity case against her father.

"How do we characterize Trillanes and Marcos in relation to ICC?" Duterte asked.

After her supporters shouted "traitors," Duterte replied: "Yes, they are traitors to a Filipino and to the country."

Duterte also accused the ICC of being a "lapdog" of Marcos and Trillanes.

"But more than that, ang ICC ay tuta ni Trillanes at ni Marcos," Duterte said. ("But more than that, the ICC is a lapdog of Trillanes and Marcos.")

ICC an 'impartial court.' Castro said Duterte's claims were baseless and untrue. She added that the vice president may have made the remark out of frustration over her father's case.

"Malamang ay ikinalulungkot lamang niya dahil ang ICC ay isang impartial court, hindi maaaring gamitan ng impluwensya at hindi kayang takutin na saktan o ano mang pwedeng gawing karahasan," Castro said.

("Perhaps she is only saddened because the ICC is an impartial court that cannot be influenced or intimidated by threats of harm or any form of violence.")

The first complaint against Rodrigo Duterte over alleged crimes against humanity was filed before the ICC in 2017 by lawyer Jude Sabio, counsel for self-confessed Davao Death Squad hitman Edgar Matobato.

At the time, Marcos was pursuing an electoral protest against then-Vice President Leni Robredo after losing the 2016 vice presidential race.

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