Former President Rodrigo Duterte will keep his legal team at the International Criminal Court (ICC) despite speculation of dissatisfaction with his defense, Vice President Sara Duterte confirmed.
The Vice President said she relayed concerns about possible changes, but her father was firm.
“Sabi niya, hindi palitan. Pero meron siyang mga instructions na ibinigay sa legal team,” she told supporters in The Hague on January 29.
She declined to share details of the instructions, saying they were not important.
VP Sara also thanked supporters for standing by their family since the former president’s arrest in March 2025, when he was taken into custody upon arrival from Hong Kong following an ICC warrant.
The case stems from the tribunal’s probe into his administration’s anti-drug campaign, where authorities acknowledged more than 7,000 deaths in police operations.
In her view, the proceedings will stretch further.
“[A]t sigurado ako lalampas pa ito ng isang taon pa, ang kaso ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte dito sa ICC,” she said.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I earlier ruled Duterte fit to participate in the confirmation of charges hearing set for February 23.