ICC prosecution wants role of Du30’s PH lawyers clarified
The prosecution in the International Criminal Court (ICC) case of former President Rodrigo Duterte wants the role of Filipino lawyers in his legal team clarified after they were cited during his confirmation of charges hearing late last month.
Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity of murder in connection with his administration’s drug war—which killed at least 6,000 people, based on government records; and over 30,000, based on human rights records, including children as young as 3 years old.
Based on a March 6 document released to the public on Sunday, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang is seeking confirmation from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) as to whether lawyers Salvador Medialdea, Salvador Panelo, Martin Delgra III, Silvestre Bello III, Alfredo Lim Jr. and Caesar Dulay are indeed members of Duterte’s defense team.
Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, mentioned their names as a matter of record during the confirmation of charges hearing on Feb. 23 to 27, despite earlier stating that they were not members of the defense.
“These statements have created the impression that the six lawyers are members of Mr. Duterte’s defense team before the [ICC],” the document read.
‘Risk assessments’
Niang pointed out that under regulation 23bis(2) of the Regulations of the Court, Duterte’s case is classified confidential, with only the defense, prosecution and the ICC’s Registry privy to that case.
He said the prosecution emailed the defense on Feb. 25 to have them clarify these lawyers’ roles, but they “refused to do so.”
“The prosecution therefore requires clarification on whether these individuals are in fact members of Mr. Duterte’s defense team in order to conduct thorough risk assessments to potentially oppose their appointment,” Niang said.
According to the document, the prosecution also requested PTC I to order the defense to confirm in filing that the six lawyers have not received and will not receive any disclosure or have access to any nonpublic filings in this case.
Furthermore, the prosecution asked PTC I to have the defense confirm that these lawyers are not entitled to legally privileged meetings or other communications with Duterte in the ICC detention center.
PNP monitoring
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police is on alert for possible protests marking the first year of Duterte’s ICC detention on March 11.
“We are closely monitoring developments and coordinating with local units to ensure public safety,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Monday.
“While we respect the right to peaceful assembly, we also have the mandate to ensure that there will be no incident that will disrupt normal activities and threaten peace and order,” he added.
The PNP, Nartatez said, is monitoring social media posts supposedly calling for a motorcade rally from Edsa to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, but he did not give any further details.
Nevertheless, he said he had ordered the deployment of more police personnel along Edsa, near Villamor Air Base, and in Davao City, the Duterte family’s hometown, ahead of March 11. The PNP chief reminded police officers to exercise maximum tolerance.
Arrest, detention
To those planning to join protests, he said: “We respect your right to protest but I remind everyone to exercise discipline and comply with authorities’ directions to prevent unnecessary conflicts.”
Duterte was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong, under an arrest warrant issued by the ICC on March 7, 2025. The warrant covers crimes he allegedly committed as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the drug war from Nov. 1, 2011, when he served as Davao mayor, until the country’s withdrawal from the ICC on March 16, 2019, when he was serving as president.
The former president arrived on a chartered plane in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 12, 2025. He faced the ICC for the first time in an initial appearance hearing via video link from a detention facility in The Hague on March 15 last year.
On Sept. 26, PTC I rejected the requests by the defense for Duterte’s interim release and ordered his continued detention, with the court saying this was based on the requirements of the 2002 Rome Statute which established the ICC. —WITH REPORTS FROM JASON SIGALES AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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