ICC: Duterte skipping hearing just a request, up for judges to decide

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday said that the ICC judges will still have to decide on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to refrain from attending his confirmation of charges hearings next week over the drug war.

“It is just a request from the defense for now; it will be for the ICC Judges to decide on it, at this stage,” the ICC said when asked by the media.

This came after Duterte submitted a notification to the international tribunal waiving his right to attend the hearings from February 23 to 27 as he does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction over him, among other reasons.

READ: DAY IN COURT: ICC Hearings on the Charges vs. Duterte

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.”

Meanwhile, the ICC has released a document naming the alleged co-perpetrators of the former president who were in the "common plan" to "neutralize alleged criminals" through "violent crimes including murder.”

These are Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Senator Bong Go, lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II, and former officials Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan, Oscar Albayalde, among others.  

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. –NB, GMA Integrated News