A man holds a portrait of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where he will be appearing, in The Hague on March 14, 2025. Nicolas Tucat, AFP/File
MANILA — Amid pending motions filed by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp before Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court, his trial on charges of crimes against humanity is still set to proceed on November 30, ICC Assistant to Counsel Atty. Maria Kristina Conti said.
In an earlier motion dated August 31, Duterte’s defense team asked the prosecution to “reframe” the crimes against humanity charges against him and submit an updated document before the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC. Both the prosecution and the victims’ counsel opposed the motion concerning the form of charges.
When asked if the motion could delay the start of the trial, Conti said: “Not really because it will not stop or delay the November 30 proceedings so siguro kung ikaw abugado ng akusado, gusto mo na as in malinaw (if you are the lawyer of the accused, you would also want it laid out clearly).”
“Kaya siguro sa totoo habol nila ito sa approval which is precisely the point of the prosecution, 'ano ba in-approve na ito'?” she added, citing the prosecution’s opposing argument that the charges had already been confirmed by the Pre-Trial Chamber.
In a separate filing dated September 3, the defense also asked the ICC to amend its electronic court protocol, raising concerns over the prosecution’s use of open-source evidence.
Conti, however, clarified that open-source evidence only refers to media reports and other hearsay evidence, and does not cover the prosecution’s direct evidence.
She said that even with stricter electronic protocols, the prosecution would still be able to present its direct evidence.
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“What we mean by that eh yan na yung mismong witness, nakakita ng nangyari, nakarinig ng sinabi… kaya itong ebidensya na ito pwedeng gamitin,” Conti added.
(What we mean by that is that the actual witness who saw what happened and heard what was said is there, so this is evidence that can be used.)
The court’s decision on the defense’s requests may be addressed during the upcoming status conference on Wednesday, September 16. Conti added that the schedule for the November 30 proceedings will also be laid out during the status conference.
Trial Chamber III Presiding Judge Joanna Korner earlier said Duterte should appear at the next status conference, “unless there’s some medical issues.”
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