MANILA (September 10) — Rodrigo Duterte’s “deteriorating” health has made it difficult for him to lead his defense at the International Criminal Court, according to his lead counsel, who has called on the Marcos administration to permit the former leader to return to the Philippines and be temporarily released here.
On Tuesday, September 9, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman stated that Duterte’s health had rapidly deteriorated since his imprisonment, impairing “his ability to assimilate the evidence and to give his lawyers proper instructions.”
Kaufman stated, “The Defense sincerely hopes that the current administration, which sought fit to outsource its obligation to afford the former President a fair trial in the country of his birth, will now let him return home to face whatever judicial process is necessary, if at all, with dignity.” Kaufman also stated that this would be the former leader’s temporary release until the ICC’s legal proceedings are over.
Kaufman’s comments follow the ICC pre-trial chamber’s decision on Monday to indefinitely postpone Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing scheduled for September 23 in order to assess the 80-year-old’s capacity to participate in the proceedings.
According to a defense motion submitted on August 18, Duterte was physically or psychologically incapable of participating in the hearings. The motion asked that “all legal proceedings, including the hearing on the confirmation of charges, be adjourned indefinitely.”
The defense’s medical evaluation of Duterte was “supported by leading medical experts, including one not selected by the Defence,” Kaufman emphasized Tuesday, but he gave no information about the experts or their conclusions.
He said that Duterte’s “precipitous and traumatic rendition” to ICC prison was the reason behind his purported health deterioration.
Kaufman stated that although Duterte “remains in good spirits,” “his age and the conditions of detention have taken their toll on him.”
Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera dissenting, stating that the court should have moved forward instead of delaying proceedings, the ICC decided 2-1 to postpone the hearing in order to determine on the fitness question.
Despite their opposition to the indefinite delay, the ICC prosecution agreed to a brief adjournment. Indefinite postponement was also rejected by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims.
Lawyers for the victims complain
However, lawyers representing victims of killings during Duterte’s drug campaign reject the health claims, viewing it as deliberate theater on the part of the former President.
In recent months, disinformation about Duterte’s conditions in ICC prison has circulated, including faked photos of him seeming dangerously thin, which his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, has had to publicly dispute.
Kristina Conti and Neri Colmenares of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers accused the former president of delaying his trial by “drama and antics of obfuscation” in a statement released on Monday.
“Duterte is notorious for drama and antics of obfuscation. And Filipinos have seen this tactic one time too many,” the NUPL statement continued. “We will not fall for a desperate, time-worn, and calculated ploy to paint himself aggrieved.”
Through Rise Up for Life and for Rights, Conti and Colmenares represent victims. They added that victims were “dismayed” by the delay and “eager to join the proceedings, in the hope that they can finally attain justice.”
At least 303 alleged victims of the drug war have expressed their desire to take part in the pre-trial procedures against Duterte, according to the ICC Registry’s records. Yesterday, Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla acknowledged that the Justice Department is personally protecting at least four of them as witnesses.
“Fitness for trial is a factual matter that can and should be decided soonest, so that trial on the merits can proceed,” the statement continued.
“If Duterte is feeling ill or not his usual strongman self, he could actually waive his right to be present at the hearing, per Rule 124 of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and assign his lawyer to represent him,” it stated.
Together with the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims, the victims’ lawyers promised “to push for the resetting of the hearing soonest, and for any other available remedies.”
Fear of retaliation. Victims of extrajudicial killings opposed Duterte’s previous request for interim release in June, arguing that doing so could imperil their lives as they prepare to testify against the former president.
According to the victims, Duterte’s release “will pose a direct and significant danger to the victims who have demonstrated courage in applying to participate in the present proceedings.”
They contended that he remains a threat to anyone who testify against him because of his persistent political power, which is demonstrated by his recent reelection as mayor of Davao City and the vice presidential position held by his daughter.
Duterte faces charges of murder and crime against humanity from November 2011 to March 2019, notably for his alleged involvement in at least 43 killings connected to police operations and the Davao Death Squad while in office.
Human rights organizations say that up to 30,000 people were killed in the drug war, many of them ordinary users and pushers whose families are currently pursuing justice at The Hague, despite government numbers placing the death toll at 6,000.
