Atty. Salvador Medialdea Visits Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte at ICC Detention Facility
MEDIALDEA – The legal counsel of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte spoke on his condition at the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention facility now.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is now detained at the ICC detention facility in the Hague, Netherlands. He made an initial appearance before the pre-trial chamber of the ICC remotely last Friday. Duterte was sent a video link while he stayed at the detention facility.
Following the transfer of the custody of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the ICC, countless Filipinos were surprised by the appearance of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. Malacañang suggested to the Filipinos to call to bring Roque home to the country instead of calling for Duterte’s return.
According to former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, he will be one of the lawyers of the former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his legal battle. He stressed that only former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea is listed in the official registry of the ICC but he and another lawyer have already applied to be part of Duterte’s legal team.
Former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea was the one who accompanied former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the Hague, Netherlands following his arrest. Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Nicolas Torre III claimed that Duterte’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña, allegedly refused to go saying she has no passport.
Recently, Medialdea was able to visit former Pres. Duterte at the ICC detention facility for the second time around. The former executive secretary gave an update on the condition of the former President who is currently in detention abroad.
“Okay naman siya, he’s in very high spirits … Ano lang siya, naiisip niya ang mga sumusuporta sa kanya, nagpapasalamat siya sa inyong lahat,” he said.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Atty. Salvador Medialdea also revealed that former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte missed the Filipino foods. Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque previously revealed that Duterte requested for rice aside from the Dutch foods.
“Isa sa medyo namimiss niya yung kanyang usual na kinakain, yung tuyo, yung munggo, at higit sa lahat yung piniritong saging. Yun ang nawawala sa kanya. Other than that, he’s okay, ipagdasal, keep on praying for him,” Medialdea said.
Atty. Harry Roque said he will seek asylum at the Netherlands as he applied to be a legal counsel of Duterte. The ICC has yet to respond to the application of Roque and only Medialdea is listed as the legal counsel of the former President as of now.