By Diego Morra
It is very rare when a father and a daughter who normally strut like peacocks get in on the chin twice and on the same day. It just happened to Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio. Rodrigo suffered a big smack while detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague while the daughter, who comports herself as if she were entitled to royal treatment, got her version of the big slap when the House of Representatives cut the budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) from the proposed P889.2 million to P733.2 million.
In the case of Rodrigo, Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC l) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected his attempt to secure interim release from the ICC detention center, with PTC l issuing a 23-page filing that rebutted the grounds invoked by defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman, who asserted that his client was suddenly suffering from cognitive debilities, ranging from his failure to recognize family members, and cannot recall names and incidents, places and even his own counsel. ICC’s rebuttal dismissed Kaufman’s arguments, saying he has not raised any valid issue to warrant the court’s favorable action. Duterte’s detention, it added, “remains necessary based on each of the requirements of the Rome Statute.” PTC l bewailed Kaufman’s claims, noting that his arguments are “speculative and without basis.”
On the other hand, lawmakers were apparently peeved by Sara’s absence during the plenary, when heads of offices are expected to defend their proposed appropriations. Not a shadow of his loyal staffers materialized during the session to justify their budget, prompting House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima to move for the reduction of the OVP budget during the period of amendments on the proposed P6.793 trillion 2026 budget. De Lima’s motion was seconded by the majority of House members. Lawmakers earlier ridiculed Sara’s demand that she would only materialize at the plenary on two conditions: That President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. must attend the hearings on the budget of the Office of the President (OP) and that all the immigration lookout orders on seven of her staffers be scrapped. Malacanang ignored her disingenuous plea. Sara is the world record holder for egregious acts and she swims in the flood of non-sequiturs.
“Public money is not a toy. Until the Vice President learns respect, we must act like a parent that disciplines a brat,” de Lima said. “I know this move will generate varied reactions. It might even be exploited by certain camps to elicit sympathy for Vice President Sara. Diyan naman sila magaling kadramahan. Pero hindi pwedeng mangibabaw ang drama sa kung ano ang tama, sa kung ano ang makatwiran, at sa kung ano ang nararapat sa pagtatanggol sa dignidad ng institusyong ito at ng proseso ng pambansang budget,” de Lima added. To understand the Dutertes, one must hark back to the famous quote wrongly ascribed to Shakespeare but originally from the poem “Marmion” by Walter Scott: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” By using deception as their instrument, the Dutertes weave a complex, self-perpetuating cycle of consequences that they eventually cannot control.
PTC l noted that Kaufman’s submission failed miserably to prove his allegation that his client was so cognitively impaired that he cannot be competent enough to stand trial. “The chamber considers that the documents do not indicate how Duterte’s alleged physical condition or cognitive impairment negate the risks identified,” the filing added. Moreover, the chamber noted that it found the defense’s reference to the two decisions purportedly supporting the existence of a Court practice to provide provisional release for humanitarian reasons to be mistaken. “Indeed, different from the remedy and conditions proposed in the request, those two decisions granted temporary transfers outside of the court’s detention center for a period not exceeding 24 hours, during which the person stayed at all times in the custody of the Court, and in very limited and exceptional circumstances such as the attendance of the funeral of a relative,” said the chamber.
By banking on his claim that since Rodrigo is already 80 years old, he must be released. There is no showing that detention has been detrimental to his health, the chamber added. ICC earlier guaranteed round-the-clock medical and psychiatric care for Rodrigo, who had earlier ridiculed the ICC to act quickly, arrest him and proceed with the trial. When the ICC arrested him at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on March 11, 2025 just as he had requested, he howled in protest. Now, he wants to be freed. Last year, Sara also boycotted the OVP budget hearing and even bragged that her office would operate even with a P1 annual budget. When both the Senate and the House of Representatives cut her budget to P733.2 million, she protested that there will be no money to assist people who seek her help. Yet, she has been making regular trips to the Netherlands and other countries to cement support for her father. She has not rendered a single report on her frequent overseas jaunts even if she claims her expenses were not on the taxpayer’s dime.
The double whammy that the Dutertes received on October 10, incidentally the Double 10 anniversary in Taiwan, amounts to a comeuppance to the normally overconfident political dynasty. They also failed to influence retired and active military and police officials to join their own version of “protest against corruption” on Sept. 21, 2025, indicating that they are not gaining traction but are losing steam. Of course, the Dutertes and their PR minions and political operatives have been praying that the President resign and turn over power to her. Sara’s version of “Iginuhit ng Tadhana” has become “Kinalimutan ng Madla,” as millions have become dismayed, annoyed, flustered and infuriated by antics. She’s neither here nor there. By being consumed with the obsession that one fine morning she will be marching on to Malacanang on a royal carriage, Sara may yet end up living on her ice cream castle in the air.
The bad treatment the Dutertes received in the 24 hours is not amusing as it paves the way for more bad news in the succeeding weeks. With the new Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, succeeding the Duterte appointee, more legal cases may be brought against Sara and her brothers. Neither is her husband exempt from getting himself in legal tangles, the least of which was the shabu smuggling case. Of course, Pharmally case has been filed and the point man in the multi-billion peso scam is not expected to be the fall guy. He will sing, naturally, and Sen. Bong Go will not be pleased. Remulla will have his work cut out for him. Imagine looking into all the reclamation projects won by special interests and Chinese dredging companies, the projects promised by China that the Dutertes banked on, only five of which materialized. The quid pro quo for the policy shift on the West Philippine Sea, the surrender of Philippine prerogatives in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and Duterte’s willy-nilly grant of permissions to China for purported research at Benham Rise, the Philippine Deep and exploration of other maritime features. Weaponizing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman certainly was in fashion during the Duterte incumbency. Why should it be any different now?
