ICC urged to reclassify Duterte defense response redacting names of 6 Filipino lawyers

The Prosecution has filed a request to the International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber I to reclassify a Defense response regarding the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte, after it redacted the names of six Filipino lawyers concerned in the filing.

In a public redacted version of the “Prosecution’s Request for Reclassification of ‘Defence Response to Prosecution Request ICC-01/21-01/25-406-Conf-Exp”, the Prosecution mentioned the names of Salvador Medialdea, Salvador Panelo, Martin Delgra, Silvestre Bello, Afredo Lim and Cesar Dulay as the lawyers at issue. 

“The Defence’s purported reason for the redactions – to preserve the ‘dignity’ of the six lawyers at issue in the filing – is insufficient to depart from the principle that proceedings before the International Criminal Court (the “Court”) should be public. It is also unclear how confirming to the public that these lawyers do not work for the Defence team would negatively impact their ‘dignity’, to the extent that it is even a consideration,” the Prosecution said.

It added that the Defense has provided no explanation for its sudden change in position.

“Finally, the redacted information should be made public in order to assuage the fears of potential witnesses and victims and to ensure there is no chilling effect on the Prosecution’s ongoing investigations,” the Prosecution said.

In its prior submissions, the Prosecution argued that the statements and actions of Duterte’s Defense Counsel made the impression that the six lawyers “are members of Mr Duterte’s Defence team.”

Thus, the Prosecution filed a request asking the Defense Counsel to confirm, on the record, that the six lawyers, inter alia, “are not members of Mr Duterte’s defence team in his case before the Court”.

According to the Prosecution, the Defense responded in which it “affirm[ed], confirm[ed], assur[ed] and guarante[ed]” that the six lawyers “‘are not members of Mr Duterte’s defence team in this case.’”

“However, later, in the public redacted version of the Defence Response, the Defence redacted this information from the public,” the Prosecution said.

The Prosecution attempted to resolve the matter through an e-mail to the Defense on March 30, 2026 asking that the Defense request reclassification of the filing as public “as there is no basis for the redactions applied.”

The Defense response

According to the Prosecution, the Defense responded the same day, advising that “the redaction applied is merely to protect the dignity of those lawyers and does not impact on anything of concern unless, of course, it is your intent to humiliate them - which I am sure it is not.”

Further, the Defense argued that the “purpose” of the Prosecution’s Request had been fulfilled as it had been made clear that confidential materials were not made available to the six lawyers, the Prosecution said.

Finally, the Defense argued that the Prosecution’s “initial premise” that the lawyers were members of the Defense team was “wholly incorrect and unwarranted” and cited to a transcript from the confirmation hearing in which Defense Counsel introduced the six lawyers who were “attending and supporting us today”.

Prosecution’s submission

In its submission, the Prosecution argued that the Defense’s reason for the redactions of sparing the six lawyers alleged humiliation by confirmation to the public that they are not members of Mr Duterte’s Defense team, “is not a justification to derogate from the well-established principle that proceedings before the Court are public.”

“First, the Defence’s argument is unfounded. No explanation is given as to why the truth (that they are not part of Mr Duterte’s Defence team) being public would in some way be humiliating or compromise their dignity. Further, while the principle of publicity of proceedings is not absolute, it should not be departed from to allegedly preserve the self-image of six individuals who the Defence has ‘affirm[ed], confirm[ed], assur[ed] and guarante[ed]’ are unrelated to this case,” it added.

“Finally, it is necessary that this information is made public in order to assuage the fears of potential witnesses and victims and to ensure there is no chilling effect on the Prosecution’s investigations,” the Prosecution said, arguing that the six lawyers are closely connected to Duterte and have been appointed to high-level governmental positions during his presidency.

The document was signed by ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang dated April 24, 2026.

The Duterte family last February said that six lawyers will attend the ICC hearings “to ensure that he is properly represented by a Filipino legal team”:

•     Salvador Medialdea
•     Martin Delgra III
•     Silvestre Bello III
•     Alfredo Lim Jr.
•     Caesar Dulay
•     Salvador Panelo

“We thank the legal team for their continued dedication and professionalism during this critical time,” the family said.

Duterte is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison, formally known as the Hague Penitentiary Institution, on charges of crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Government records show that more than 6,000 drug suspects were killed in police operations, while human rights groups estimate the toll could have reached as high as 30,000, citing alleged unreported cases.

The ICC on Thursday confirmed the charges of crimes against humanity against Duterte in connection with the killings in his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was President.

In a 50-page document, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I committed Duterte to face trial on the charges as confirmed, and ordered the court registrar to transmit the decision confirmation of charges and the record of these proceedings.

Duterte's lawyer, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, said the defense will prove during the trial before the ICC that the supposed state policy to kill suspects in his administration's war on drugs was "complete fiction."

The trial proper before the ICC against Duterte may begin between October 2026 and February 2027, ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said Friday. —KG, GMA News