Sara thanks Marcos Jr. for renewed relationship with Duterte

MANILA, Philippines —  While the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, may have caused her much pain and anguish, it has also brought their family together – and for that she is grateful to President Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte said yesterday.

The former president has been in detention in The Hague since March 11 after his arrest by the Interpol – aided by the Philippine National Police – at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

The Vice President blamed Marcos for the arrest and flight of her father to The Hague despite the President’s insistence that his administration did not cooperate with the ICC but had only complied with treaty obligations with the Interpol.

But now, she said she is thankful to Marcos for opening the door to possible “forgiveness” while she was arranging her detained father’s affairs at The Hague.

“It’s sad that it has to happen inside the ICC, but yes, I wanted to thank him,” she told reporters in The Hague.

In her last visit to her father, she was accompanied by his common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, and their daughter Kitty.

Hundreds of friends and supporters – mostly Filipino workers – would gather each day outside the Scheveningen penitentiary compound where the former president is detained to express sympathies and call for his return to the Philippines.

The Vice President’s mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, is already in the Netherlands awaiting her turn to visit the former president.

“I am blessed because I gained a sister after everything that happened – the attacks, the confidential funds and the impeachment and we have a relationship now. I have a relationship with Kitty and I am happy,” the Vice President said.

Moreover, her father’s detention has reignited their relationship, she said.

“We have a relationship now – a father-daughter relationship. Since we cannot discuss anything legal anymore because it is understood inside that only the lawyers can discuss legal matters with the former president, we only discussed family matters,” she said.

“I am now able to talk to him about a lot of things, life in general, but not about the case with the ICC. We even talked about the supposed boyfriend of Kitty,” she added.

As to her father’s legal woes, they are building a team, headed by lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, that can ably deal with them, according to the Vice President.