Statement of ICC on Number of Cases vs. Former PH Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte
ICC – The International Criminal Court explained that the 43 cases against former President Rodrigo Duterte are just “sample of incidents” and more may be presented.
Amid the criticisms from many Filipinos most especially the supporters of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Pres. Bongbong Marcos stressed that all necessary procedures were followed in Duterte’s arrest. According to the President, the government acted on the arrest of his predecessor because of its commitment with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Duterte is currently detained in the Hague Penitentiary Institution. The former Philippine President is under a regular detention now after several days of being monitored in the hospital wing of the ICC detention facility. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte flew to the Netherlands to support her father.
Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte questioned the names of the 30,000 alleged victims of Duterte’s drug war. The Vice President also emphasized that the number of victims was only at 43. According to the Vice President, it is not a case in the country as well as the ICC.
The International Criminal Court or ICC previously said that even one killing may be considered a “crime against humanity”. The lead counsel of Duterte’s legal team, Nicholas Kaufman, also highlighted the respect to the role of the victims in the proceedings.
The confirmation of the charges against Duterte is set on September 23. The British-Israeli Lawyer who leads the legal team of the former Philippine President hopes that they will be able to convince the judges that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the country. If that happens, Kaufman believes that there might be no need for the confirmation of charges to push through.
Recently, ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah spoke on the number of cases against former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Abdallah clarified that there are just sample cases and the prosecution may present more cases.
“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 Spox said.
Based on the report, Fadi El Abdallah stressed that the next phase is the confirmation of charges and the judges will look deeper on the case to decide whether it has to proceed to the actual trial or not. According to him, in case the prosecutor will add more cases, it is possible and it is up to the judges to decide whether to admit the new cases to the ongoing case or not.
Previously, the lead counsel of Duterte confirmed “working on” the interim release bid of the former Philippine President. However, Malacañang said its stance of not recognizing the ICC jurisdiction in the country remains.