FORMER President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) has conveyed his final wishes should he pass away while detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Detention Center in The Hague, Netherlands.
Vice President Sara Duterte, in an interview with some of the media outside the ICC on July 8, 2025, revealed that her 80-year-old father has expressed his desire to be cremated in the Netherlands, stating that his body should not be returned to the Philippines.
“He’s not in the mood; he already gave his last will. He said wherever he dies, that’s where he should be cremated,” Vice President Sara recounted.
“He said if he dies here in the Netherlands, his body should no longer be brought home to the Philippines. He should just be cremated here, and only his ashes brought home.”
However, the vice president admitted to a lighthearted disagreement with her father on the matter, telling him they would discuss it another time. She explained her stance: “I am not pro-cremation, and he is pro-cremation.”
She even jokingly asked her father about potential repercussions if his wishes were not followed. “So I told him, ‘What will happen if, for example, we don’t follow your will to cremate you, and we bury you beside your father?’ Then I said, ‘Will you come back?’ Well, he said, ‘I’ll think about whether I’ll haunt you or not.’ So that was the discussion,” she shared with a laugh.
When asked about her feelings regarding her father expressing such wishes, she acknowledged it as a natural contemplation for someone of his age.
“Well, I guess that’s natural for an 80-year-old, right? To think about such things,” she mused. “And it’s good that all of us know his last wishes so that they can be fulfilled if it happens.”
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