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| Duterte with bodyguards at Manila airport before leaving for HK (Facebook photo from Lance Kurt Z Duterte) |
Former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte is in Hong Kong to lead the campaign rally of the PDP-Laban candidates in the upcoming senatorial elections in the Philippines. But there is also widespread speculation that he fled the country yesterday to avoid arrest by the International Criminal Court.
According
to online posters, Duterte will be the main guest at an event at Southorn
Stadium in Wan Chai called “Pasasalamat kay PRRD with OFWs” to be led by
followers of his ally Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who is in jail in Manila on charges
of human trafficking and money laundering.
Duterte
and Quiboloy’s photos were displayed prominently in the poster, along with that
of the former leader’s daughter, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte.
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The
poster, which said the event will be held from 9am to 5pm, also showed pictures
of the senatorial candidates supported by the Dutertes, including incumbents
Bong Go and Ronaldo dela Rosa, as well as Rep Rodante Marcoleta and lawyer Vic
Rodriguez.
Despite
this, talks swirling in the Philippines say the elder Duterte had fled the
country amid the possible issuance of an arrest warrant against him by the ICC
for his alleged crimes against humanity that resulted from his bloody war on
drugs.
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Various reports surmised Duterte may not return to the Philippines after his Hong Kong trip and could instead seek refuge in China, whose leaders he was known to be friends with.
There
were also unconfirmed reports that Duterte will be joined in Hong Kong by his
embattled daughter, Vice President Sara, who was recently impeached by the
lower house of Congress and could be put on trial by the Senate.
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| Duterte supporters shared this poster of Duterte's talk with OFWs in HK |
But the speculations were quashed by Duterte’s former chief presidential counsel Salvador Panelo, who said the former president will meet with overseas Filipino workers at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai, to thank them for their continued support for him and his daughter.
In a
Facebook post, his grandson, Lance Kurt Z. Duterte, also scoffed at the reports
he attributed to “paid mainstream media” and trolls that his grandfather had
fled the Philippines as he was about to be arrested by the ICC.
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“Common sense naman, may magtatago ba na
sinasabi kung saang lugar pupunta? Antatangang mag-isip,” his post read.
(Have some common sense, why would somebody who plans to hide would say where
he is going? What a dumb thought).
Duterte arrived in Hong Kong at 10:25am on Friday aboard Cathay Pacific flight
CX912, which left Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila at 8:41am. He
had travelled from Davao City to Manila the previous day, and stayed in Taguig
City before catching the flight to Hong Kong.
The Consulate in Hong Kong acknowledged reports of his arrival, and said it was monitoring his movements.
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