DFA: Welfare check on Duterte a standard consular duty

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

It included one item covering the period when Duterte was mayor of Davao City and 15 items covering the barangay (village) clearance operations in the country when he was president. (Photo: ICC via PNA)

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the welfare check conducted on detained former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte was part of standard consular functions carried out by Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide.

In a statement sent to reporters, the agency said the welfare check is a duty practiced by all Philippine Embassies and Consulates and is “no different from what the DFA does for other Filipino citizens who are in detention abroad.”

“Officials from the Philippine Embassy in the Hague visited former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte at the Detention Center of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct a welfare check,” it said.

“This is in line with its functions under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos.”

The statement comes after Vice President Sara Duterte slammed the visit, describing it as a “sham welfare check,” when it took place without permission from the former chief executive’s family.

In a separate message to reporters, ICC Spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah explained that any ICC Detention Center visit is “strictly conducted with the approval or at the request of the person in detention.”

Duterte was arrested on March 13 through the facilitation of Interpol upon his arrival from Hong Kong and was flown to the Netherlands that same night.

The ICC Prosecutor has since formally charged him with crimes against humanity, accusing him of liability for dozens of murders that allegedly took place between 2013 to 2018 under a campaign against illegal drugs.