THE trial of the crimes against humanity charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) could be shorter compared to other cases handled by the tribunal, a retired ICC judge yesterday said.
Lawyer Raul Pangalangan, who served as ICC judge from 2015 to 2021, said he does not expect the trial of Duterte’s case to drag to up to 10 years like the case of former Congolese leader Jean-Pierre Bemba.
In an interview with Bilyonaryo News Channel, Pangalangan noted that Bemba’s trial dragged for more than a decade before he was declared guilty in 2016 on two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging).
He appealed his conviction and was later acquitted.
Bemba was arrested in 2008 and was accused of atrocities committed by his forces in the Central African republic between 2002 and 2003.
“In the case of Bemba, there were many charges, many counts filed. In one of the last cases, I heard there were 75 counts, and nine crimes charged,” Pangalangan said.
On the other hand, he pointed out that Duterte is only facing a single charge of crimes against humanity (murder) in relation to the extrajudicial killings that took place when he was still mayor of Davao City and during the first three years of his presidency before he withdrew the country from the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2018, which became official in 2019.
“So, if it does proceed to trial, I think it will be much shorter,” said Pangalangan, who is also a former dean of the University of the Philippine College of Law.
“There’s only one crime charged in Mr. Duterte’s case, compared to the nine crimes against Bemba. That makes a significant difference in how long the trial might take,” he added.
Duterte appeared before the ICC Pre Trial Chamber 1 last Friday during the pretrial hearing. The court has scheduled the confirmation of the charges against Duterte on September 23, 2025.
The six month-period between the pretrial hearing and confirmation of charges hearing has sparked concerns over the length of the trial of the case, if it comes into trial.
Duterte is set to celebrate his 80th birthday on March 28.
EVIDENCE, NOT EMOTION
Pangalangan said mass actions and protests are unlikely to influence the ICC as its judges are solely bound to rule on the facts and evidence presented before it.
“Judges will rule on facts and evidence, not on emotions or public action or clamor,” he said, adding that the international court and its judges are governed by strict legal principles designed to ensure fairness, respect for the rights of the accused and are shielded from external influence.
“I think that is the fundamental principle governing the exposure of the judges to all these tumults taking place outside,” he said.
Protest actions have rocked the country since Duterte was arrested and extradited to the ICC last week. The PNP has said no untoward incident or violence occurred during these mass actions.
Several protest actions were also staged by Duterte supporters abroad, while his camp have filed petitions before the Supreme Court challenging his arrest and calling for his release and return from ICC detention.
‘PROSECUTION CASE STRONG’
ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti, who is representing the EJK victims, said she is confident of the strength of their case before the ICC.
Conti made the remark in reaction to the statement of Duterte’s lead defense counsel, British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, that he is confident that his client will be ‘acquitted soonest.”
“I am very confident in the strongest defense possible and I’m very confident that he will be acquitted indeed even at the earliest stage possible,’ Kaufman told reporters outside the ICC on Tuesday.
Conti said the prosecution has more than enough evidence to secure Duterte’s conviction.
“Hindi ko ma-imagine kung paano nya nasabi yun pero sa panig ng mga biktima, malinaw sa amin na si Mr. Duterte ang may gawa at promotor ng war on drugs na nagresulta sa mga patayan (I cannot imagine why he said that, but the victims are definite that it is Mr. Duterte who spearheaded and promoted the war on drugs that resulted to the killings),” Conti told the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” forum.
Conti said Duterte’s defense team may be looking at the ‘nexus’ on the connection of Duterte to the killings – that he was not present during the killings, the aftermath of the killings and the investigation – to try to get him acquitted.
“Pero syempre mas malaki ang tinitingnan naming kunteksto dito. Hindi ito simpleg kaso ng patayan kundi crimes against humanity (But we are looking at the larger context here. This is not a simple murder case but rather a case of crimes against humanity),” she said.
“Si Kaufman malaya s’yang sabihin yun, libre syang sabihin pero ang korte lang ang makapagsabi kung maa-acquit siya sa early stages pa lang ng kaso (Kaufmnan is free to say that, but it is only the court which can say if [Duterte] will be acquitted in the early stages of the case),” she added.
Conti welcomed Kaufman’s appearance as lead counsel of Duterte, saying that the approach of former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea will not get much traction in international courts such as the ICC.
To recall, Medialdea was allowed to read a “manifestation” before the ICC Pre Trial Chamber 1 during last week’s hearing, where he claimed that the former president’s arrest was politically motivated and tantamount to “pure and simple kidnapping” or “extrajudicial rendition.”
Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc reminded Medialdea that they were just conducting an initial hearing mainly for the former president to be aware of his rights and the charges against him.
The pre-trial chamber also junked Medialdea’s request to postpone the proceeding.
Lawyer and senatorial candidate Luke Espiritu yesterday said Duterte is likely to be convicted by the ICC.
Speaking at a media forum at the Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City, the workers rights advocate said the prosecution has a strong case against the detained 79-year-old Duterte based on the 43 documented
extrajudicial killings chosen from thousands of other cases.
He said the statement of Kaufman predicting an acquittal for the former president was expected.
“As a lawyer, it’s natural for him to say that. That was meant to project confidence. It is part of due process that the counsel will take the side of his client, regardless of his personal viewpoint. As the lawyer for the defendant, he must be confident of the cause of his client regardless of contrary personal opinion. He has to find ways to win, that’s the nature of his job,” Espiritu said.
He called on parties and observers to respect Duterte’s lawyers and to allow him to do his part as defense counsel without being hampered.
“Of course, if you were to ask us for our assessment , since we are not representing Duterte, in our view Duterte is more likely to be convicted by the ICC,” Espiritu added.
Labor leader and senatorial aspirant Leody de Guzman likewise laughed off Kaufman’s remark.
“What would you expect? If this early the lawyer says that Duterte is facing a greater possibility of losing his case, he might not get paid for his legal services,” he said.
DOJ DEFENSE TEAM
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is ready to defend the government in the habeas corpus petitions filed before the SC by Duterte’s children.
The now consolidated habeas corpus petitions were filed by Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.
This as Remulla played down the refusal of Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra to represent the government-respondents in the case, saying that the DOJ has more than enough lawyers to take on the case.
“The DOJ will be more than sufficient to defend the position of the republic in this matter. I think it’s time to assert our identity as the lawyer of the people in this case. We have to put our best legal minds to work,” Remulla told the “Kapihan sa Manila Bay” forum.
Guevarra, who previously served as DOJ secretary in the last two years of the Duterte administration, has recused himself from representing key government officials in the SC cases, citing his previous stand that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the country following Manila’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
Remulla said Guevarra’s decision is not a big deal.
“He has recused himself so we will take up his slack. I don’t think that there is anything to make a big deal of considering the personal reason. We will just move on from there and defend the case from the SC if there will be oral arguments,” the DOJ chief said.
“I will not argue with Mr. Guevarra. He has recused himself, so we will take up his time. He did not want to use the Office of the Solicitor General, that’s his own reason,’ he added.
ICC JOB OPENINGS
The ICC is now looking for freelance transcribers fluent in the Filipino and Cebuano languages.
In a job posting dated January 28 this year, or more than a month before Duterte was arrested based on an ICC warrant, the international tribunal said those who would be hired will be working under the Integrated Services Division of the Office of the Prosecutor.
It said that applicants must have a strong command of the local language and a working knowledge of English.
The role of the successful applicant would involve producing transcripts from audio or video recordings in compliance with guidelines set by the Language Service Unit or LSU.
“A roster of freelance transcribers will be established as a result of this selection process. Once accredited, freelance transcribers may be offered contracts for the provision of remote transcription services in keeping with the operational needs of the Unit,” the ICC job posting read.
“Mindful of the nature of the ICC’s mandate and operations, freelance transcribers must understand that the audio/video material outsourced for transcription may on occasion risk being of an upsetting or disturbing nature,” it added.
The deadline for application is December 31, 2025. – With Peter Tabingo
