Duterte’s ICC Legal Team Now Includes Medialdea, Panelo, 4 Other Pinoy Lawyers
MEDIALDEA, PANELO – The former Executive Secretary and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel of ex-President Rodrigo Roa Duterte are included to be part of his legal team in his legal battle before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Today marks the beginning of the confirmation of charges against former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte before the ICC. The former Chief Executive waived his right to personally appear at the hearing.
In a letter to the International Criminal Court, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte informed the ICC that he will skip the confirmation of charges hearing. According to him, he does not recognize the jurisdiction of the foreign court over him.
Duterte also stated that he is old, tired, and frail. According the former President, he has accepted that he might die in prison and he wishes the foreign court to respect his peace in the cell that they have put him in. His ICC legal team is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman who also represented him when he skipped the hearing for his appeal for an interim release.
Recently, the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte has added six (6) Filipino lawyers to his ICC legal team who will also attend the hearings “to ensure that he is properly represented by a Filipino legal team”. Based on a report on PhilStar, former Executive Sec. Salvador Medialdea and former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo are part of the Filipino legal team who will attend the hearings regarding the ICC case against Duterte.
Former E.S. Salvador Medialdea was the one who accompanied former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte when he was flown out from the Philippines for the transfer of his custody to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands. He also represented Duterte in one of the ICC hearings before.
Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo flew to The Hague yesterday for the confirmation of charges of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte which is set to start today, February 23, and last until February 27. Based on a report on PhilStar, here are the Filipino lawyers who will represent the former President:
- Salvador Medialdea
- Martin Delgra III
- Silvestre Bello III
- Alfredo Lim Jr.
- Caesar Dulay
- Salvador Panelo
“We thank the legal team for their continued dedication and professionalism during this critical time,” the Duterte family expressed.
Based on the website of the ICC, the session will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time in The Hague or 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Philippine time. While the confirmation of charges is ongoing, Duterte family members are not allowed to personally visit the former President inside the ICC detention facility.