ICC Speaks on Rodrigo Duterte Case amid Former President’s Camp Questioning Number of Cases
RODRIGO DUTERTE CASE – The International Criminal Court spoke on the 43 cases against the former Philippine President who is now detained in the ICC facility in The Hague, Netherlands.
The legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte will be led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte made it clear that Harry Roque and Salvador Medialdea won’t be part of Duterte’s legal team. It is contrary to what Roque previously announced.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is now under a regular detention at the Hague Penitentiary Institution. According to Vice Pres. Duterte, she hopes to finish setting the legal team of her father before she returns to the Philippines.
The Vice President has an impeachment case to face in the country. Recently, the former President’s camp received the documents stating the number of items of evidence in the Rodrigo Duterte case as well as the number of the alleged victims of the war on drugs.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is looking for the 30,000 pieces of evidence against her father. According to the Vice President, it is not a case in the ICC as well as in the country. She also claimed that the lawyer of the other camp is allegedly not knowledgeable.
Following the statement of the Vice President, the International Criminal Court clarified the coverage of the accusation against the former President. The ICC stressed that there is no required number of cases to establish a “crime against humanity”.
Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman believes that the victims have a role in the case. The British-Israeli Lawyer emphasized the essence of respecting the role of the victims in the process.
Recently, the ICC spoke on the 43 cases against former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the foreign court’s spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, explained that the number are just “sample of incidents”.
“This doesn’t mean that these are the only incidents that may be included in the charge. These were a sample of incidents that are related, that were, for the purpose of issuing an arrest warrant, sufficient from the point of view of the judges, to sustain the charge,” the ICC spokesperson said.
According to Abdallah, the prosecutor may submit additional requests to the ICC on the Rodrigo Duterte case, thus, more cases may be presented. Based on the report, it depends on the judges to decide on whether or not to admit the additional cases submitted by the prosecution.
The foreign court’s spokesperson stressed that the next step is the confirmation of charges. It is set on September 23. According to Abdallah, it is in the phase when the judges would look deeper into the case and hear the defense and decide whether the Rodrigo Duterte case needs to go to a trial or not.
Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman hopes to convince the judges over the jurisdictional argument of their camp. According to him, the case may not reach the stage of the confirmation of charges in case their argument will be a success.