Sara Duterte back in Manila after father’s arrest

Vice President Sara Duterte has flown back to the Philippines from Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon following the arrest of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed.

The OVP said that the Vice President arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at approximately 3:21 p.m. via Philippine Airlines flight no. PR 319.

She and her family, along with Rodrigo Duterte, went to Hong Kong over the weekend for a “personal trip.” There, they met with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for a thanksgiving event, along with several senatorial candidates of PDP Laban.

“The Vice President is accompanied by her children and will address any relevant matters at the appropriate time. We kindly ask for your understanding as she attends to these matters,” the OVP told reporters.

Rodrigo Duterte was placed under the custody of authorities on Tuesday morning after getting arrested for crimes against humanity, as confirmed by Malacañang.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that when the former president arrived in Manila from Hong Kong, authorities served the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.

The Duterte patriarch, however, questioned why he was being detained at the Villamor Air Base following his arrest.

There, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Police Major General Nicolas Torre III read to him the Miranda rights, telling him his rights to remain silent and to have his own legal counsel.

The ICC has been investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths in police operations.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths were as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings.—AOL, GMA Integrated News