‘Old, tired’ Duterte pulls off rare absence in historic pre-trial

2026-02-21 - 02:13

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – It would have been the first time for Rodrigo Duterte to face legal interrogation where he’s not in control, but the former president managed to pull off a rare feat of being excused from the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings. Saying he is “old, tired, and frail,” and wanting to just be in “peace inside the cell it has placed me,” Duterte signed a waiver giving up his right to face his accusations in the ICC when it holds confirmation of charges hearing next week. The prosecution called the move a “sudden heel-turn” on Duterte’s part, and reminded the judges that only in exceptional cases are suspects excused from court. In the past, the ICC did allow, for instance, Kenyan deputy president William Ruto, to skip some of his hearings so he could still perform his duty as deputy president. Ruto was not detained during his case, only summoned. And in September last year, the ICC held for the first time a confirmation hearing for a suspect it never managed to arrest — Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. Not for reasons of health Yet Duterte, who’s detained at a facility that’s only a two-minute drive to the Court, is excused on the basis of his waiver. “Note that the suspect’s absence next week is based on the waiver of the suspect, not on reasons related to the health,” said Oriane Maillet, the ICC spokesperson. The ICC judges allowed this absence, although they called Duterte’s reasons for it “speculative,” “irrelevant” and “have no impact on court proceedings.” The judges said writing a waiver was sufficient under the rules, even as they stood by their earlier decision that Duterte is fit to participate in the proceedings. Must Read Case goes on: ICC judges declare Duterte fit for pre-trial Under ICC rules, any suspect wishing to be excused from the proceedings must submit a waiver, which Duterte did. “I can assure you that he’s considerably weaker, considerably frailer, considerably greyer. He has collapsed at least twice whilst he’s been in detention... He is not what he was when he was illegally renditioned to the court,” Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead defense lawyer, told Rappler on Friday, February 20. “And I don’t wish to present someone like that, out of respect for him, to the world, just so that he can have a finger wagged at him by legal representatives who rolled up at the court a few days ago, have not been exposed to the evidence, and are effectively going to be making some ceremonial declamatory speech about what happened during the years that Mr Duterte was the president of the Philippines and the mayor of Davao,” Kaufman added. What happens at pre-trial The prosecution is expected to draw a clearer picture of their case against Duterte, whom they have accused of being an indirect co-perpetrator of widespread murders as crimes against humanity. Senators Roland “Bato” Dela Rosa and Bong Go have been named as among other co-perpetrators, whose liabilities are supported by “insider accounts,” according to the prosecution’s pre-confirmation brief. After opening statements by all parties on Monday, February 23, the prosecution and the victims’ lawyers will have the entire second day, February 24, to make submissions on merits. We don’t expect any witness being named, much less presented, during the pre-trial proceedings. However, the prosecution might be able to offer more details on the actual incidents covered by their charges. The lesser redacted version of the document containing charges (DCC) already revealed some specific incidents, such as 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, whose killing was caught on CCTV and became emblematic of police abuses during the war on drugs. Kian’s police killers have been convicted in local court. Must Read Duterte at the ICC: Key dates to remember “Sana ay maibigay ng banyagang hukuman na ICC ang patas na hustisya hindi lamang kay Kian delos Santos kung hindi sa libo-libo na pinatay na hindi na-imbestigahan,” Randy delos Santos, Kian’s uncle, told Rappler in a message. (I hope that the international court ICC can give fair justice not only for Kian but also for the thousands who were killed but never investigated.) Killing of mayors The killings of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, and Albuera City, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa are also covered by the charges. The prosecution’s theory is that there is a “common plan” by Duterte and his co-perpetrators to systematically kill members of the civilian population, through the alleged Davao Death Squad when he was mayor or the war on drugs that he mounted during his presidency. Both were made in the name of Duterte’s promise to fight drugs and criminality. Duterte’s tough policy on crime has endeared him to millions of supporters, some of whom had proclaimed that Duterte might “have killed thousands, but he saved millions.” “The defense and the prosecution will elaborate on their arguments and you will hear more about those legal arguments that are being heard by the judges,” said Maillet. Kaufman, when he presents on the third day or on Thursday, February 26, would “attack and challenge the prosecution evidence,” he told Rappler. Play Video Victims’ participation The ICC also issued a decision on Friday rejecting Kaufman’s request to disqualify the victims’ lawyers. Human rights lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, as well as their chosen case manager Nicolene Arcaina, would remain for now as part of the victims’ legal team. Only Butuyan and Andres can appear in court. They are expected to make representations for all 539 victims who have been admitted as participants in the case. Victims’ role in an ICC case is to bring views to the court. It’s the witnesses who bring evidence. Witnesses can be experts, or insiders privy to a state policy. We know that self-confessed death squad hitmen Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas have already given their accounts to the ICC. In past cases, there were victims who were also recognized as witnesses. Higher threshold When judges issued the warrant against Duterte, their threshold was “reasonable grounds to believe” that Duterte committed the crimes. At this stage, judges will be using the threshold “substantial grounds to believe” when they make the decision on whether to confirm the charges or not. The last hearing day on Friday, February 27, would give some time for detention review, or the yearly review of the court if detention is still appropriate for Duterte. The pre-trial chamber had already denied his application for an interim release, but they have to reassess it yearly. No decision will be made at the end of the week, as judges have 60 days to decide. Any decision the judges make are not directly appealable, meaning either party has to get the court’s authorization just to file an appeal. Play Video – Rappler.com