ICC Registry Releases Report over Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte Case
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed that they received more than 300 applications from alleged drug war victims who want to participate in the case against the former President.
Former Pres. Duterte is under the custody of the International Criminal Court since March. The former Chief Executive is faced with an accusation of crimes against humanity over the war on drugs of his administration.
In June, the lawyers of the former President applied for his interim release from the ICC detention facility to an undisclosed country. However, a few weeks after it, Duterte’s ICC legal team led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman asked the court to hold off in making a decision as they still await some documents and information that will back their bid.
The ICC lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte was also a counsel of former First Lady Imelda Marcos several years ago. According to Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte is aware about it. He previously sparked headlines with his claims that the former President allegedly wants his former spokesman, Harry Roque, to stop meddling in his ICC case.
Roque is currently an asylum seeker in The Netherlands. He previously insisted to be part of the legal team of the former President but Vice Pres. Sara Duterte believes he must focus on his bid for asylum. In the Philippines, there is a pending arrest warrant against him.
The International Criminal Court has set the confirmation of charges against the former President on September 23. Ahead of it, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s camp renewed their appeal for his interim release to an undisclosed country.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte previously claimed that not all the needs of her 80-year-old father can be provided inside the ICC detention facility. According to her, the former President may even be considered a “super senior” citizen considering his age and he may be taken cared of better if there is a private nurse or caregiver for him.
Recently, the ICC Registry released a report. Based on an article of ABS-CBN News, the ICC Registry confirmed that more than 300 alleged victims of the drug war of the Duterte administration have made their applications to participate in the case.
“Against this background, the VPRS received 303 application forms— a limited figure compared to the number of war on drugs victims who wish to participate in the case,” the ICC Registry stated in its report.
According to the Registry, the VPRS or the Victims Participation and Reparations Section is working to inform and assist the alleged victims of the Duterte drug war of their rights as well as the legal process. Application forms in different languages were also made.
Based on the report, there were application forms in English, Tagalog, Cebuano, and French to inform potential applicants of their rights and how the process will proceed with regards to the ICC case against the former President.
The former President’s camp has yet to issue a statement over the recent development of the case. Previously, Duterte’s lawyer sought for the disqualification of an ICC prosecutor from the former President’s case. However, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan also opposed the move of the Duterte camp to disqualify him from the case.