Palace: No ongoing talks on freezing Duterte assets

International Criminal Court (L) and former President Rodrigo Duterte (ICC and official Facebook page of Rody Duterte)

MANILA, Philippines —  There is no ongoing discussion about a possible freeze order on the assets of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Thursday.

In a public briefing, Castro was asked whether Duterte’s assets could be frozen while his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, is ongoing.

(As of now, we do not see anything like that because it needs to be coordinated with the government agency. But this has not been discussed, and for us… it has not been mentioned.)

“Wala pa namang plano kung ano ang magiging utos ng ICC,” she added.

(There is still no plan regarding what the ICC’s order will be.)

Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong on March 11 and was flown to the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, on the same day.

He made his first appearance before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on March 14, where he was informed of his charges and rights under the ICC Rome Statute.

The Duterte administration’s drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.

However, human rights watchdogs estimated the death toll from the drug war to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.