Sara flying back as Hague job 'done'

(UPDATE) VICE President Sara Duterte said her work at The Hague in the Netherlands is now done, and she is excited to fly back to Manila as soon as her siblings arrive to visit their father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at Scheveningen Prison.

The elder Duterte is facing charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs in which thousands of suspects were killed without benefit of a trial.

In an interview with reporters and supporters outside the prison, the vice president said her job of assessing the lawyers for her father's defense is now done and that the full list of lawyers will be announced by his lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, in the next few days.

"Everything is organized with the lawyers. And there is already a system for the family with regard to visiting here in the detention unit. So, yes. And the last document that was needed of me, I delivered it this morning to the person inside who asked for it," Duterte said.

She said she was excited to fly back to the Philippines to attend to her obligations as vice president.

Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte will be the next to arrive at The Hague, taking over from her in the coming days once her father's current partner, Honeylet Avanceña and her daughter, Veronica, fly back to the Philippines.

"What we cannot confirm is the arrival of Mayor Sebastian Duterte but supposedly he will be the next one after congressman Paolo Duterte. He will be here so that any allowed visits inside will include his family members to talk to him and give updates to what is happening in the Philippines," the vice president said.

Duterte also said their travel is funded through personal funds and asked supporters not to create donation drives for the family.

"If we are going to sell our things, we will do that so we will have financial support for our needs here," Duterte said.

She also relayed her message from her father to their supporters that everything that he did during his administration was for the Philippines.

The vice president said she is "still thinking" if she will join the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) campaign rallies now that her father, who also acts as party chairman, is detained.

"And I'm still thinking about it. Maybe on my trip back home, I will have time to reflect on what to do next and how to help the country through the campaign and the elections," Duterte said.