VP Sara praying for fairness in Duterte's ICC proceedings

Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday expressed hope that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I will be fair in the proceedings of the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity.

“Ang dasal natin ay dapat maging patas ang korte. Kahit saang korte man ‘yun sa mundo, ‘yun ‘yung dasal natin, na maging patas ang korte,” she said in an interview in Davao City.

(Our prayer is for the court to be fair. Whatever court it may be in the world, that’s our prayer, for them to be fair.)

She said this ahead of her father’s confirmation of charges hearing on February 23.

According to the ICC, the Pre-Trial Chamber may decide to do the following at the close of the confirmation of charges hearing:

• Decline to confirm the charges; such a decision does not prevent the Prosecution from presenting a subsequent request for confirmation of the charges on the basis of additional evidence.
• Adjourn the hearing and request the Prosecution to consider providing further evidence or conducting further investigation, or amending the charges.
• Confirm the charges and commit the case for trial; upon confirmation, the Presidency of the Court constitutes a Trial Chamber responsible for the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial

“Ang mahalaga ay meron siyang mga abogado na ka meeting niya lagi ngayon at kausap niya lagi ngayon para mapag-usapan nila yung paghahanda nila para sa confirmation of charges,” she said.

(What is important is that he has lawyers whom he meets with regularly now and whom he is constantly talking to so they can discuss their preparations for the confirmation of charges.)

The ICC Prosecutor has charged the former President with 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder while implementing his anti-narcotics campaign, “although the actual scale of victimization during the charged period was significantly greater.”

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say that the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related killings. —VAL, GMA Integrated News