Six weeks ago, a truck was pulled up in the detention centre of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The court also received the delivery of the birthday card. a lot of.
They are all the latest prisoners, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was 80 on March 28.
“This place was flooded with flowers and I brought out some emails because they didn't know what to do,” said Mr. Duterte's lawyer Nicholas Kaufman in a telephone interview. He said he had left three bags of emails for Mr. Duterte, saying the court could not review it. In the Philippines, thousands of people wore green clothes related to Mr. Duterte's party, flooding the streets of Davao City.
Duterte ordered a brutal anti-magazine campaign in which thousands died while serving as president remained very popular in the Philippines. On Monday, he is expected to win a term with the eighth-placed mayor of Davao City as the Filipino votes in the midterm elections. Currently, he is still eligible to take office.
Mr Duterte was suddenly arrested and extraditioned to The Hague in March, splitting the Philippines. Although some polls show that most Filipinos support international surveys, many of Mr. Duterte’s supporters believe he is a victim of the political persecution of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who was once an ally of the Duterte family.
Shortly after Duterte's dramatic arrest, Mr Marcos' approval rate dropped from 42% a month ago to 25%, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia. However, Duterte's current vice president and daughter, Sara Duterte, rose from 52% to 59%.
Ms. Duterte has long been considered a future presidential candidate. But the election half of the Senate is going to fight for may be key to her. She was charged with impeachment for alleged corruption, murder of Mr. Marcos, allegations involving drug war killing and inciting an uprising, and 24 senators in the country will decide whether to convict her this summer.
In Davao, Mr. Duterte was still loved after 22 years as mayor, and his dynasty flourished. Sebastian, a son who may win the Deputy Maral contest, expects he will serve as mayor if his father wins. At least seven members of his family can join the local government.
For the first time ever, three political families – Land, Garcias and Al-ags – challenged Dutertes, their former political allies in Davao. But even Bernie al-Ag, who is now competing with Sebastian Duterte, said he was upset about Rodrigo Duterte's arrest.
“I also see him as the figure of my father,” said Al-Ag, former deputy mayor of Davao. “I continue to pray for him.”
NGO worker Mags Maglana, who runs for a seat in Congress for Paolo Duterte’s other son, said people in Davao could distinguish between the patriarch and the people around him before Mr Duterte’s arrest.
But she is now worried: “The sympathy for her father will gradually come to the whole family.”
Duterte's camp uses his case as a campaign tool. A video of his arrest was played at a rally in Manila Thursday. His supporters wore T-shirts and carried posters that read: “Take him home.” Ms. Duterte told attendees that the country “paid the price for the wrong leaders of the election.”
“What's even more painful is that they managed to kidnap the former president and hurriedly threw him into another country and were tried by foreigners,” she said.
Another country in the Netherlands is far from the life that Mr. Duterte is used to.
The first problem is food. (It is not clear exactly what the detention centers offer, but former Liberia president Charles Taylor once complained that the food was too “centric”.)
Fadi El Abdallah, spokesman for the International Criminal Court, said the court did not comment on matters related to the private lives of the detainees.
Mr. Kaufman said Mr. Duterte said he “does not use” the meals offered, prompting lawyers to demand “culturally suitable food.” Ms. Duterte said that for Mr. Duterte, that was rice.
“That's what we asked for and it was cooked well,” Ms. Duterte told reporters earlier in Hague. “It's right according to the taste of the Philippines.”
Ms Duterte said Mr Duterte's family was allowed to provide him with groceries, including his much-needed Coke Zero. She told reporters he complained about why he could only put zero cokes once a day and that he needed at least two jars a day.
Life is organized. Mr. Duterte would huddle with Mr. Kaufman in the conference room every morning. In the afternoon, he met with some family members. He allowed time to exercise in the gym that worked with the court to play basketball, tennis and badminton. There is another public space with a soccer table. He was one of six detained people, according to court records.
According to Ms. Duterte, her diabetic father asked the nurse to monitor him. He has access to library books and a computer that allows him to review his defense documents but has no connection to the internet. In the morning or afternoon, he is allowed to call a phone number that has been reviewed in advance. He has TV, so he can watch the news.
“Just kidding, some people call it a five-star Hilton,” Kaufman said. “But it's still prison.”
Small detention is in a Dutch prison in The Hague. One of its former residents was Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast, the first former head of state to be tried in court. He was acquitted with another Ivorian political leader, Charlesblé Goudé, represented by Mr. Kaufman.
Mr. Kaufman argued in a filing with the court that there was no legal basis for Mr. Duterte because the Philippines is no longer a state party under Roman statute, the treaty forms the basis of the court’s legal authority – the court allowed an investigation into the war of drugs, requiring his lawyers to investigate the war of drugs in 2021.
A hearing on the confirmation of the charges is scheduled to be held on September 23.
In Davao, dozens of volunteers have camped in front of Mr. Duterte’s house since his arrest. Janice Mahipus, 45, of the online seller, said she had been sleeping outside the house, first on a carton on the floor and then on a bed a few meters away.
“We will never be tired, wait for him,” she said.
aie balagtas see Contribution report.
