Vice President Sara Duterte criticized Philippine Embassy officials in the Netherlands on Monday, September 29, saying she saw “malice” in their uncoordinated welfare check on her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Speaking in a press conference at the Senate after a finance subcommittee swiftly approved the proposed ₱902.89-million budget of the Office of the Vice President for 2026, the vice president said neither her family nor her father’s defense team was told about the embassy’s visit. She added that she only learned of it after a report was forwarded to the Office of the President. “Mayroon isang beses na pumunta sila at hindi sila nagsabi sa pamilya namin na nandoon sa Hague o sa defense team. Nalaman ko na lang s’ya noong mayroong report na binigay sa Office of the President,” she said.

The vice president questioned the timing, noting that no similar checks had been made since her father arrived in the Netherlands. She said the welfare check was conducted only after the defense filed a motion for indefinite adjournment of the ICC proceedings. “Hindi naman sila nagwe-welfare check eh simula ng dumating si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte… Suddenly mayroon ng welfare check na ginawa ‘yung officials ng embassy,” she said.

She also raised concern over details of the report that, she claimed, made insinuations about her father’s health condition. “Of course, yes, I see malice in that. Number one, they never did a welfare check. Number two, they did not coordinate with the defense team… Makikita mo sa report na nag-a-assess sila sa kalusugan,” she said.

The vice president explained that she deliberately avoided discussing the issue with her father, saying she did not want to add to his stress. “The confirmation of the reports that I got a copy of ay enough na ‘yun para sa akin na sabihin na hindi maganda ang kanilang motibo sa pagpunta doon,” she said.

She went further, warning that the incident showed the ICC’s inability to fully safeguard her father while he remains in detention. “It’s very alarming… Keeping him in without a trial date, without a date for confirmation charges is just plain cruelty, di ba?” she said. Her remarks underscored the Duterte family’s longstanding view that the ICC’s investigation into the former president is politically motivated and undermines Philippine sovereignty.

Rodrigo Duterte, 80, has been detained in The Hague while the ICC investigates allegations of crimes against humanity tied to the thousands of killings during his administration’s “war on drugs.” The case has split Philippine politics. His allies, including his daughter, insist the court has no authority over the Philippines and that the campaign was a lawful exercise of state power against crime syndicates. Human rights groups and critics, however, have argued that the killings — many of them involving poor suspects allegedly executed without trial — demand international accountability because domestic investigations were obstructed or ineffective.

As the vice president criticized the embassy’s move, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) maintained that the said embassy officials in The Hague visited the former president at the ICC detention center to carry out a welfare check, a routine consular function.

“Officials from the Philippine Embassy in The Hague visited former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Detention Center of the International Criminal Court to conduct a welfare check,” the agency said. “This is in line with its functions under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos.”

The agency emphasized that such visits are part of standard protocol and are conducted professionally and respectfully, without interfering in legal proceedings. For the DFA, the visit was no different from welfare checks performed on overseas workers, seafarers, or other Filipinos facing detention abroad.

Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya, who assumed the post in 2021, leads the embassy with the support of First Secretaries and Consuls Nomer Ado II and Irish Kay Kalaw-Ado, and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Crystal Gale Dampil.