(FILES) Former President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III claimed on Thursday that arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to file a case against him.
Torre was the one who read Duterte’s Miranda rights after his arrest on Tuesday, which was executed under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged crimes against humanity during his administration’s war on drugs.
From his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Duterte was transferred to Villamor Air Base, where he was joined by his daughter, Kitty Duterte, and his common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, and others.
On Thursday’s Palace briefing, Torre said he experienced physical and verbal harassment from the former president’s camp while at the airbase.
“Physical po ay itinulak ako ni Honeylet, tinabig niya ako at malakas ang pagkatabig niya noong nagkasalubong kami sa hallway. Nasa video naman minura ako ng kaniyang anak [Kitty Duterte],” he said.
(Physically, Honeylet pushed me, shoved me, and it was a strong shove when we crossed paths in the hallway. It’s on video that her daughter [Kitty Duterte] cursed at me.)
“Mismong si Presidente Duterte ay ni-remind niya ako magre-retire ako at aasuntuhin ako ng kaniyang mga anak at ng kaniyang mga kamag-anak after my retirement even before my retirement – tinrethen [threaten] niya ako but everything is okay lang,” Torre added.
(President Duterte himself reminded me that I would retire and that his children and relatives would file a case against me after my retirement, even before my retirement—he threatened me. But everything is okay.)
READ: Rodrigo Duterte arrives in The Hague
Meanwhile, when asked for his reaction to Kitty Duterte’s curse directed at him, Torre said he could brush it off.
“Kaya natin palampasin ‘yun,” Torre said.
(We can let that slide.)
Duterte arrived in The Hague, Netherlands, early Thursday (Manila time). The ICC, based in The Hague, investigates individuals charged with serious international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and other grave offenses.