Sara Duterte flies to the Netherlands after dad Rodrigo's arrest

Vice President Sara Duterte left the country on Wednesday morning to fly to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, following the arrest of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed.

In a message to reporters, the OVP said that the Vice President departed Manila at approximately 7:40 a.m., via Emirates flight no. EK 337, bound for Amsterdam.

However, based on flightradar.com, the actual departure was 8:14 a.m. (Manila time), and the plane was expected to arrive in Dubai, where she is set to board a connecting flight, at 1:20 p.m. or 5:20 p.m. (Manila time).

Rodrigo Duterte was also scheduled to fly to Rotterdam The Hague Airport from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

The plane carrying him arrived in Dubai at 4:03 a.m. or 8:03 a.m. in Manila on Wednesday, nine hours after it left the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Philippines on Tuesday at 11:03 p.m. (Manila time)

The Duterte patriarch was placed under the custody of authorities late Tuesday morning after getting arrested upon arrival in the Philippines from Hong Kong.

Before his flight took off, the former president addressed his arrest via an Instagram live of his daughter Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

The former chief executive reiterated that he wanted to be prosecuted in his home country.

“Ako pag nagkasala, you prosecute me in Philippine courts, with the Philippine judge, the Filipino prosecutor, and magpakulong ako sa bayan ko kung sakali,” he said.

(If I commit a crime, you prosecute me in Philippine courts, with the Philippine judge, the Filipino prosecutor, and I will get imprisoned in my own country, if needed.)

A day after the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte on allegations of crimes against humanity, Malacañang said there has been no discussion about the Philippines rejoining the ICC.

''There is no discussion on that,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a press briefing Wednesday.

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's drug war. —KG/RSJ/VBL, GMA Integrated News