According to a report by Philstar on September 25, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte publicly accused Philippine embassy staff in the Netherlands of visiting her father, Duterte, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention facility without coordination with the family and defense team.

The ICC spokesperson responded that, according to the rules, consular visits must be approved by the detainee himself or requested by him.

However, Sara insisted that this visit was not merely a humanitarian arrangement but was orchestrated by President Marcos Jr., aiming to create risks and attempt to eliminate Duterte.

She emphasized that her father has been visited by relatives almost daily since March, so no additional consular attention was needed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the action, stating it was a routine procedure for all Filipino detainees.

Sara's statement was extremely strong, even warning the ICC and the Philippine government to take responsibility for any harm her father might suffer, including the worst-case scenario of his death.

Meanwhile, Duterte's defense lawyers also criticized the visit, which was not agreed upon by the defense team, and suspected the government of trying to gather health intelligence.

Sara

From Sara's perspective, her accusations are not baseless but have a certain logical chain.

Firstly, the ICC clearly requires that visits must be approved by the detainee himself, a procedural prerequisite that has not been publicly shown, but instead there is a contradiction between official statements and the family's account. It is precisely this point that Sara seized upon to question the compliance of this visit.

Secondly, her father has already had family members visit him, so no additional arrangements were needed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, insisted on sending people, giving a sense of "the weasel offering a chicken to pay homage," naturally leading to suspicion of ulterior motives.

Thirdly, as a high-profile target of the ICC, Duterte's health condition and actions may affect the case's progress. If the visit was a secret operation bypassing the family and lawyers, it would easily be understood as intelligence gathering.

Although Sara's allegations lack evidence, they are not alarmist or nonsense.

After all, she does not need to prove in court that Marcos sent someone to assassinate old Duterte, but rather to set up a narrative in advance: if her father suffers an accident in prison, she can hold Marcos responsible.

This defensive and offensive approach makes her position logically sound in political terms.

Duterte and Marcos Jr.

Moreover, Marcos Jr. indeed has the motive to eliminate old Duterte.

Although Duterte is in custody, he remains Sara's strongest political symbol. Once released or appearing in court, he could become a spiritual banner for the opposition at any time.

If Marcos wants to weaken the vice president's power, the most direct way is to silence Duterte.

Additionally, the Marcos government is trying to repair relations with the West, which requires cutting ties with Duterte's anti-drug legacy. If Duterte is still alive and able to defend himself, each trial would be a burden for the current government. Conversely, once he is gone, the narrative control would be entirely in Marcos's hands.

For Marcos, since the person is already arrested, taking one more step to completely remove old Duterte would eliminate the political burden.

This line of thinking may not have concrete evidence, but from the perspective of political enemies, it certainly aligns with the logic of political struggle.

Old Marcos

Another thing to note is that eliminating political rivals is a common tactic of old Marcos.

During the dictatorship, there were shocking political purges.

The most famous is the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino II in 1983.

Aquino was a thorn in the side of the Marcos regime, seen as the most likely person to challenge the presidency.

When he returned from exile in the United States and stepped off the plane at Manila airport, he was shot dead on the spot.

The official statement claimed it was the act of a lone gunman, but the general public believed it was secretly orchestrated by old Marcos.

Aquino's death sparked widespread anger, eventually leading to the 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew the Marcos regime.

Earlier during the dictatorship, Marcos also extensively imprisoned and suppressed the opposition, with thousands of people being illegally killed or disappearing.

Therefore, if Marcos Jr. were to have any sinister intentions, it would seem quite natural.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7554243617666122274/

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