'I am not on holiday for this trip': VP Sara Duterte defends Australia visit amid calls for accountability

Vice President Sara Duterte’s visit to Australia received mixed reactions from Filipinos. Supporters welcomed her leadership abroad, while critics questioned her priorities, highlighting the impeachment complaints she currently faces back home.

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Key Points

• According to the Office of the Vice President, Sara Duterte arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday morning, June 18, 2025.
• Filipino-Australian progressive groups have failed to stop the Vice President's visit to Australia, but are renewing calls for accountability amid impeachment complaints filed against her in the Philippines.
• Vice President Sara Duterte provided an update on her father's condition, former President Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, who is detained on charges of crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs campaign.
• She addressed the 'Free Duterte Now' rally in Melbourne, calling for her father’s release from detention in the Netherlands.

Vice President Sara Duterte addressed the 'Free Duterte Now' rally in Melbourne, joined by the some Filipinos, calling for her father’s release from detention in the Netherlands.

The supporters came from different state and territories in Australia.

Meanwhile, some Filipinos in Melbourne opposed Vice President Sara Duterte’s visit to Australia.

According to groups like Bayan Australia, the visit appears to signal support for impunity and could sow division within the Filipino community in Australia. | Photo credit: BAYAN Australia

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