- Sara accuses ICC of being a lapdog of PBBM, Trillanes
IN A FIERY address to supporters outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) on July 28, Vice President Sara Duterte defended former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, dismissing allegations of crimes against humanity and claiming the case against her father was fueled by dirty politics.
Labeling both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former senator Antonio Trillanes as “traitors to a Filipino and to the country,” the Vice President accused the tribunal of acting as an instrument for political rivals in Manila.
“The ICC is a puppy of Trillanes and Marcos… because the ICC has no other case except for the case of President Rodrigo Duterte, and they found Marcos, Trillanes, and money in the Philippine case,” she claimed. “Maleta (suitcases of money) ang pinag-uusapan dito. So where is the justice in all these?”
She concluded by declaring that the ongoing proceedings offer “no justice for the Philippines, no justice for the Filipinos, and no justice for former President Rodrigo Duterte.”
As of press time, Malacañang, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and Representative Zaldy Co have yet to issue official statements regarding the Vice President’s allegations.
Addressing overseas Filipino supporters, the Vice President argued that standard government policy execution—even if flawed—does not equate to an international crime, while questioning the validity of the listed victims under the ICC investigation.
She challenged the assertion that all casualties linked to the previous administration’s drug campaign were state-sanctioned killings, attributing many deaths to rampant, low-cost gun violence in the country.
“How a program is implemented—whether there were mistakes, errors, or it was a bad program—is not a crime against humanity,” Duterte said. “They cannot even say right now if the victims are truly victims of the drug war because gun violence is so common in the Philippines.”
To illustrate her point on the accessibility of hitmen in the country, she added:
“I have a husband, my husband has a mistress, I can hire a gunman for ₱5,000 to kill the mistress… That is how bad gun violence in the Philippines is, and that is [mischaracterized as] EJK. So how can you say that all listed victims or all your listed complainants are supposed victims of the drug war?”
Duterte went on to level grave accusations against political opponents, alleging that money changed hands to influence ICC investigators probing the former president’s anti-illegal drugs drive.
According to the Vice President, sworn statements have been executed by former military and administrative personnel alleging that funds were channeled to investigators through former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, backed by House Appropriations Committee Chair Zaldy Co.
“Former soldiers, former employees of Congressman Zaldy Co already executed affidavits saying that they were told to exchange pesos to dollars because these will be delivered to the ICC investigators through Trillanes,” Duterte alleged. “This is not hearsay because the person who did the delivery… was the same person who talked to Zaldy Co.”
