Sara asks Pinoys in Australia to support Rodrigo's release

Vice President Sara Duterte has been asking overseas Filipinos to convince their host countries' governments to challenge former President Rodrigo Duterte's continued detention at the International Criminal Court.

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Speaking before a crowd of Filipinos in Melbourne over the weekend, Sara said she was there to raise awareness on her father's ICC case and encouraged overseas Filipinos to do the same by reaching out to the Australian government.

Sara had specific requests for Filipinos in Australia: “You convince the government of Australia, because Australia is a member of the ICC, to look into the case of President Duterte and the injustice that he is receiving, that he's been getting from the ICC.”

Filipinos in Australia part of various human rights groups had earlier written to the country's minister for home affairs to oppose Sara's visit. They said in a joint letter that Sara's ongoing campaign to discredit the ICC and mobilize diaspora support for her father “through falsehoods” undermined international justice principles valued by countries like Australia.

Melba Marginson, lead convenor of the Australians for Philippine Human Rights Network, told Philstar.com that Sara is “currently polarising Filipino-Australian politics” and that they tried to stop her visit given Australia’s history of cancelling visas for “human rights offenders visiting to speak at public events.”

REVERSED POSITIONS

It’s a clear reversal of fortune for the Dutertes, whose patriarch had expelled Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox from the Philippines in 2018 for allegedly engaging in political activities.