Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s ICC Legal Team Makes Filing for September Hearing
Duterte’s ICC legal team confirmed that they will not present any witness nor supply a written testimonial at the September hearing for the confirmation of charges.
The controversial arrest and the transfer of custody of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands undeniably marked the history of the country. As much as the record says, it is the first time that a former President was handed over to the foreign court.
Duterte is faced with an accusation of crimes against humanity over the way on drugs of his administration. Despite his arrest and detention, the former Chief Executive maintained that everything he did during his term as the country’s president was for the Filipino people and the nation.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte believes that the ICC and the administration of Pres. Bongbong Marcos allegedly used each other in her father’s arrest. According to her, the foreign court supposedly wants to take the custody of the former President while the Marcos admin wants her father away from the country.
Recently, several members of the family of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte claimed that he is now as thin as “skin and bones”. The former President loss his appetite on food. Duterte’s ICC legal team sought for his interim release but has also recently requested the court to hold off in deciding over his bid.
According to lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, the lead counsel in Duterte’s ICC legal team, they still await some documents and information that will support the interim release plea of the former President. The defense team of Duterte also recently made a filing with regards to the confirmation of charges hearing.
The confirmation of charges is set on September 23. Based on a report on Inquirer, in its filing, Duterte’s ICC legal team stated that they will not present any witness. Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman mentioned about credibility allegedly having little weight in the said stage of the legal process.
“The Defence will not call witnesses to testify at the confirmation hearing. This is a principled decision because credibility is given little weight at confirmation,” the British-Israeli lawyer stated.
Duterte’s ICC legal team does not want to provide the prosecution with an “advance notice of the many potential Defence witnesses who would counter the evidence” of the prosecution team.
Furthermore, based on the report, the defense team of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte said they will not supply written testimonies during the confirmation of charges nor present an alibi. Recently, Kaufman also spoke about former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte allegedly having no desire to see Harry Roque.