LIVE UPDATES: Rodrigo Duterte confirmation of charges hearing at ICC

International Criminal Court (ICC) Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls on Monday mentioned Senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go as some of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s co-perpetrators in alleged killings during his term as mayor of Davao City.

At Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing, Nicholls presented that Dela Rosa served as Davao City Police Office chief while Go served as Duterte’s aide, special assistant, and important adviser.

He also mentioned former Davao City police chief Vicente Danao, former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Davao Regional Director Dante Gierran, and lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II.

Malacañang on Monday night took exception to the remarks before the International Criminal Court pre-trial chamber of former President Rodrigo Duterte's defense lawyer, who said that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. sought to neutralize his predecessor and his legacy.

ICC defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman at the first hearing of the confirmation of charges against Duterte referred to a phone call in which one of the parties boasted that he could "funnel" witnesses to the ICC while ensuring Marcos's plausible deniability.

"Kaufman has the temerity to accuse President Marcos of trying to neutralize Duterte's legacy. That is preposterous," Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said when sought for comment.

Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said Monday there is nothing new with the opening statement of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecution during the first day of the confirmation hearing on the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte, noting that it is based on allegations and hearsay. 

“Well, yung opening ng prosecution, ayun sa tingin ko ay paulit-ulit na dati na nilang sinasabi ‘yung naratibo nila. Pero batay naman sa chismis, batay sa espekulasyon, sa alegasyon, at sa mga hearsay pa,” he told GMA Integrated News at The Hague in the Netherlands. 

(Well, the prosecution's opening—in my view, it's just a repetition of the narrative they’ve been saying before. But it is based on rumors, based on speculation, on allegations, and even on hearsays.)

The families of drug war victims gathered together to watch day one of the confirmation hearing on the crimes against humanity of former President Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands. 

According to Jonathan Andal’s report in “24 Oras” on Monday, members of “Program Paghilom” - a group of relatives of drug war victims - wore white shirts as they closely listened to the proceedings in Tayuman, Manila.

Statements by former president Rodrigo Duterte—which he and his allies have described as jokes—cannot be dismissed lightly when thousands of people were killed during the administration’s anti-drug campaign, drug war victims’ lawyer Neri Colmenares said Monday.

“After those bombastic and exaggerated jokes, thousands died. They cannot simply be brushed aside as humor,” Colmenares told GMA Integrated News in an interview in The Hague. “It would be different if no one had died, but thousands did. So the joke is no longer a joke. It was a serious threat to the right to life of many Filipinos.” 

Although human rights organizations estimate that up to 30,000 may have died in the Duterte administration’s drug war, only 78 victims and 49 instances of extrajudicial killings were cited by the prosecution during the proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Former ICC judge Raul Pangalangan said this is “within the realm of prosecutorial discretion.” 

Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense counsel on Monday expressed hope that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I will dismiss the crimes against humanity charges against Duterte and send him back to his family.

“We hope that when you conclude your deliberations, that you dismiss these grievously misplaced and politically motivated charges,” Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s legal counsel, said during the former Philippine leader's confirmation of charges hearing at The Hague in the Netherlands.

“We will ask you to send Rodrigo Duterte back to his family and we will ask you to give back to the Filipino people their Tatay Digong,” he added.

Family members of drug war victims and supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte gathered in The Hague, Netherlands, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial chamber began the Confirmation of Charges hearings against him.

According to Marisol Abdurahman’s "24 Oras" report on Monday, relatives of the victims marched toward the ICC and held a program despite the extreme cold, while also following the hearing via livestream.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to "neutralize" his successor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s legal counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), claimed on Monday.

During his opening statement at Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing, Kaufman cited a purported document containing a transcript of a telephone call between four parties, whose identities he did not disclose.

The public statement of former President Rodrigo Duterte on his war on illegal drugs is a “strong” piece of evidence against himself in the alleged crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands, a former ICC judge said.

“It is quite strong because it comes from Duterte himself. It’s almost like an admission against interest, except that in this case these are not admissions before the court but a public statement by Duterte,” ex-ICC judge and former U.P. College of Law dean Raul Pangalangan told GMA Integrated News.