By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Who would have thought the road to The Hague would also be the path to family healing? Vice President Sara Duterte returned to Manila last Sunday after nearly a month in the Netherlands, where she stayed by the side of her detained father, former President Rodrigo Duterte — now in ICC custody for crimes against humanity.
Sara flew to the Netherlands a day after her father was hauled in under an Interpol warrant. She helped form the legal team but left the court matters to their Israeli lawyer. They barely discussed the case, she claimed — perhaps because there’s more than enough personal baggage to unpack.
Back in 2022, it was no secret that Digong wanted his daughter to run for President. Instead, she broke his plan and joined Bongbong Marcos’s “unity tandem” as VP. That choice deeply bruised the old man.
Her “misbehavior” back then had Digong wishing he could catapult his longtime aide, Sen. Bong Go, to Malacañang, instead. But the senator declined.
Now, two years and one arrest warrant later, she says there has been “forgiveness” between them. And for that, she thanked Marcos — perhaps, in jest — during an interview shortly after a heart-to-heart encounter with her dad.
Of course, Marcos was quick to catch on and exploit the remark. “Glad I could help,” he said, dry as dust and twice as smug.
But the sharper sting came from his Palace media officer, Claire Castro, who twisted the knife with flair: if VP Sara got to bond with her dad, she should really be thanking the war on drugs — because, without the trail of bodies, there’d be no ICC warrant, no arrest, no Scheveningen jailhouse, and certainly no father-daughter reunion. “You owe that to the pile of EJK cases,” she quipped.
Meanwhile, the Dutertes have been in full blame mode, accusing Marcos of feeding Digong to the wolves. But the chatter is getting louder even within their own camp: the administration could not have done it without help — maybe from someone very close to the former president.
Whispers abound that someone in Digong’s circle flipped. Murmurs even pointed at ever-loyal Bong Go, and others marked Sen. Bato dela Rosa. But the most disturbing of rumored accomplices is the one that suggests the traitor in the DDS is of Digong’s own blood.
While this drama unfolds, the Senate — after being snubbed by Cabinet members in an April 3 inquiry — is set to resume its investigation today.
To be clear, these are all just speculations. But if there’s a lesson here, it’s this: betrayal doesn’t always come from the outside. Sometimes, it’s much closer to home.
Senate President Chiz Escudero intervened to smooth tensions between Malacañang and the Chamber after Sen. Imee Marcos pushed forward with the probe into the legality of Duterte’s arrest. Executive officials are now expected to attend.
We’ll see how far the presidential sister will go against her own brother’s bidding.
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