Duterte camp vows to help expedite confirmation proceedings

The defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte has committed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial chamber that it would "do its utmost" so that the confirmation proceedings be streamlined and expedited.

Duterte's lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman told this to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on April 8 (Netherlands time), in response to the latter's March 21 order seeking observations on matters related to the conduct of confirmation proceedings.

The chamber previously ordered the defense panel to provide observations on the information submitted by the Prosecution, and information on the following questions:

• Does Mr. Duterte anticipate invoking any ground for excluding criminal responsibility and/or raise the existence of an alibi?
• Does Mr. Duterte anticipate the need to conduct investigations before the confirmation hearing?
• Does Mr. Duterte anticipate presenting evidence at the confirmation hearing? In the affirmative, what is the prospective overall amount and types of evidence that Mr. Duterte intends to rely upon?
• Does Mr. Duterte anticipate calling witnesses to testify at the confirmation hearing?
• Does Mr. Duterte intend to rely on written testimonial evidence at the confirmation hearing? In the affirmative, in what format does Mr. Duterte intend to provide such evidence?
• Does Mr. Duterte possess or control any books, documents, photographs or other tangible objects that the Prosecution is entitled to inspect as material intended for use by Mr. Duterte as evidence under rule 78 of the Rules?

According to Kaufman, the defense team has not yet been able to provide an informed response to the issues raised in the first five questions.

"Prosecution disclosure is taking place on an ongoing basis and crucial aspects thereof are yet to be revealed to the Defence. Only when the Defence receives a clearer and more granular picture of the evidence on which the Prosecution will rely at confirmation, will it be in a position to address these issues," Duterte's lawyer said.

As to the last question, Kaufman said the team has been accumulating documentation "on a regular basis which might be subject to disclosure."

"In this regard, the Defence will await the institution of an E-Court protocol. The Defence will not seek to reinvent the wheel and will quite happily accept the E-Court protocol adopted in Kony which is most suited to the Court's modern IT environment," he added.

Kaufman was referring to the case of Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony before the ICC. In January this year, the ICC Registry submitted a revised E-court protocol following a decision by Pre-Trial Chamber III.

The unified technical protocol or E?Court protocol was designed to ensure that all the necessary information is available electronically during the proceedings to the Court.

The chamber scheduled the next hearing on the confirmation of the charges for September 23, 2025.

The ICC previously said the prosecution should be able to present the strongest evidence to support its case against Duterte with his administration's war on drugs that allegedly led to extrajudicial killings.

According to ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah, the hearing on the confirmation of charges against Duterte for alleged murder as a crime against humanity could only last up to three days.

Duterte was flown to The Hague after his arrest and was placed in detention at the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison on March 13 (PH time). — VDV, GMA Integrated News