Rodrigo Duterte's legal team to appeal ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I's confirmation of charges

Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team is seeking to appeal the International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber I's confirmation of charges against him in connection with the killings under his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was the president of the Philippines.

According to Marisol Abdurahman’s report on "24 Oras," Atty. Nicholas Kaufman said that the defense would seek a leave to file an appeal against what he called the “most bizarre” and “Kafkaesque” ruling.

“The defense will seek leave to appeal the most bizarre and Kafkaesque assertion by the Pre-Trial Chamber that there is no need, and I quote, for ‘the charges to contain unnecessary details that could be too specific and limiting at trial," Kaufman said.

"Perhaps this explains why not one item of evidence was cited in the footnote of this decision,” he added.

Kaufman said the pre-trial chamber seemed to side with the prosecution, with no consideration for Duterte’s right to a fair trial.

Former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo also said that he believed the case had been “pre-judged”.

“Instead of resolving the issue, it proceeded with the hearing, which means it has already pre-judged the case... Iko-convict nila 'yan kasi nga merong sabwatan ang ICC at government natin ngayon,” Panelo said.

(They will convict him because there is already a collusion between the ICC and the current government.)

In response to Panelo’s allegations, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said that the charges against Duterte were filed in 2017, before the Marcos administration.

She said that there would be no ICC hearing if there had been no deaths in the first place.

“Kung walang mga pinatay noon, walang kaso at walang anumang hearing sa ICC kaya kung anuman ang ginawa nina FRRD at mga co-perpetrators noon, huwag isisi kay Pangulong Marcos Jr. ngayon,” she said.

(If no one had been killed back then, there would be no case or trials at the ICC, so whatever FRRD and his co-perpetrators did back then, do not blame it on President Marcos Jr. now.)

“Sila-sila ang nag-implement ng war on drugs at hindi kasama si Pangulong Marcos Jr. sa mga pagpaplano nila na patayan,” she added.

(They are the ones who implemented the war of drugs and President Marcos Jr. was not part of the killings they have planned.) —Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/NB, GMA News