Manila, Philippines – The International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber I tackles this week the crimes against humanity charges filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte, in relation to the alleged extra-judicial killings linked with his administration’s war on drugs campaign.
During the first two days of the four-day session, the prosecution and defense have initiated their opening statements, as well as the evidence of the alleged crime that will be used in determining whether Duterte will be pushed for trial.
This process is only the beginning, but for the families of the alleged EJK victims, this is a significant milestone in attaining the justice that they seek.
While the victims’ camp hoped for his appearance, Duterte was allowed to skip the hearing, both the in-person and virtual attendance, after he waived his right to appear during the proceedings.
With this Duterte won’t be appearing in all the four-days session of the confirmation hearing.
Aside from the confirmation of charges, ICC is also preparing for the hearing on the review of Duterte’s detention set on February 27.
Under Rule 118(3), a hearing on the review of detention must be held at least once every year after an accused initial appearance—in Duterte’ s case, March 14, 2025 when he was arrested and detained.
The hearing seeks to justify the continued detention of Duterte.
In line with this, in the February 23 submission of the Defense conveyed Duterte’s request to waive his appearance in the said pre-trial detention hearing.
The defense explained that while this is under the rules, there is no mandate that the accused is required to be present in the hearing.
While the Chamber is yet to release a decision, the Court released the scheduling order in relation to the hearing.
The Prosecution and Defense have 20 minutes each for their submissions, while the victims’ camp have 15 minutes.