Drug war victims reject Duterte camp bid for info related to case participants

Alleged victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs have opposed the request of his defense team for information related to several participants who may be called as prosecution witnesses in the legal proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

This was contained in an eight-page public redacted document dated December 19 and made available by the ICC, titled, "Victims' Response to the 'Defence request with respect to Group A participants'". It was signed by Paolina Massidda, principal counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, who serves as the legal representative of the alleged victims in the Duterte case.

Massida argued that agreeing to the Duterte camp's request would compromise the safety of the alleged victims.

"In other words, the information the Defence seeks would potentially lead to full disclosure of the identifying information of the victims belonging to Group A. Thus, granting the relief sought by the Defence will risk the security and well-being of the victims in violation of rule 89(1) of the Rules and article 68(1) of the Statute," the document read.

Group A refers to one of three sets of victims who applied to participate in the case. 

In his request dated September 2, lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman asked the Pre-Trial Chamber I "to notify if any of the victim applicants" in Group 1 "are connected with those mentioned" in a section of an Article 15 communication by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who has been dismissed from the Duterte case. Kaufman was referring to the section which is titled, "Individual Incidents."

Kaufman had cited that Khan's communication was on behalf of "more than 100 victims" of the situation in the Philippines. He said the prosecution's investigation was "contaminated" because of Khan's "conflicting obligations," which include previous representation of the latter's former clients who are alleged victims of Duterte's drug war.

Leads to 'disclosure'

For her part, Massida said the defense team's request essentially asks the ICC Pre-trial Chamber I to "substantially modify" its core ruling on April 17, 2025, when it adopted the procedure for admission of victims to participate in the case and ordered the ICC Registry to transmit some applications to the Chamber.

The ICC Registry transmitted 15 Group A applications to ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on August 27. However, the Duterte team filed a request in relation to the matter on September 2. Three days later on September 5, the prosecution filed its response. 

In her submission, Massida argued, "Indeed, should any victims belonging to Group A testify before the court as witnesses called for the Prosecution, the disclosure regime becomes applicable and the Prosecutor would be obliged to provide the Defence with the disclosable information in his possession, including their applications for participation, in redacted form, if necessary."

"It follows that, at present, the Defence has no right to receive the information in question that will potentially lead to disclosure of the identities of the victims belonging to Group A since said information is not necessary for the preparation of its case, thus not disclosable under rule 77 of the Rules. Consequently, the Request must be rejected," Massida said.

She cited rule 89 of the ICC Rules, which states that victims' applications are not provided for the purpose of "allowing the defence to gather information that may be important for the preparation of its case."

Khan's disqualification

The same document also provided statements with regard to the defense team's request on Khan's  disqualification from the Duterte case. 

ICC appeals judges previously disqualified Khan due to a possible conflict of interest.

Massida said the defense team's contention regarding Khan "is devoid of any legal and factual basis since the Appeals Chamber has not yet made any determination on the matter."

She added that the Duterte camp failed to demonstrate that Khan "conducted himself in an unlawful or unethical or otherwise inappropriate manner [REDACTED]."
A panel of experts who checked on Duterte's medical condition has found that the former Philippine leader is able to fully engage and participate in the ICC pre-trial proceedings, including the hearing on confirmation of charges against him.

Citing the assessment of the medical experts, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said that it was concluded that while Duterte is frail and elderly, he "nevertheless possesses the necessary capacities to meaningfully exercise his procedural and fair trial rights."

The Office of Public Counsel for Victims, which is headed by Massida, has asked the ICC to rule on Duterte's fitness to stand trial for the alleged crimes of humanity against him. 

It requested the court to set the date for the confirmation of charges hearing "without further delay" in light of the drug war victims' right to a speedy trial. — VDV, GMA Integrated News