The Duterte family on Saturday revealed that former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte was found unconscious inside his detention facility at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, prompting renewed calls for his release on humanitarian grounds.
Vice President Sara Duterte, in a strongly worded statement, said the family received “credible information” that her father collapsed and had to undergo hospital laboratory tests following the incident.
“These alarming developments raise grave concerns about the capacity of the ICC to guarantee the security and safety of FPRRD,” she said, adding that the former leader’s detention conditions were “unjust and inhumane.”
The Vice President criticized the ICC for allegedly neglecting the former president’s health needs, citing the court’s inability to address what she described as an “easily treatable” ingrown toenail and its failure to assign a full-time caregiver. She accused the tribunal of deliberately ignoring his fragile medical condition.
Sara Duterte also denounced what she called “welfare checks” by Philippine Embassy officials in The Hague, which she alleged were forms of surveillance disguised as consular duties. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), however, defended the visit, saying it was part of standard consular services for detained citizens abroad and conducted in a “professional, non-intrusive, and respectful manner.”
Duterte’s lead counsel, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman confirmed that the 79-year-old former president fell twice inside his cell, with one incident causing him to lose consciousness. He was rushed to a hospital for tests on possible cranial and brain injury. Kaufman said Duterte is “fatigued from his detention and physically incapacitated by various medical conditions,” but lamented that neither his legal team nor his family were promptly informed.
Meanwhile, the DFA clarified that it had no knowledge of the reported collapse and deferred to the ICC for updates. According to the ICC spokesperson, such consular visits follow international standards and are conducted only with the approval of the detained person.
The Duterte family insists the former president poses no flight risk and is unfit to stand trial due to declining cognitive functions. They are urging the ICC to allow his interim release to a third-party country and to adjourn all proceedings.
Duterte faces multiple counts of crimes against humanity linked to thousands of deaths in his administration’s bloody drug war. His confirmation of charges hearing, initially set for September 23, was postponed after the defense argued he was medically unfit to participate.