Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s trial would commence on November 30, 2026, the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday has decided.
During its first status conference for trial preparation on Wednesday, ICC’s Trial Chamber III said the first-ever former Asian head of state charged with three counts of crimes against humanity will be tried starting on the said date, 21 months after his surprise arrest in Manila.
In a lengthy discussion addressing pending matters related to the case, the chamber adopted procedures necessary to facilitate “fair and expeditious conduct of proceedings.”
Detailed practical information for the trial, including webstreaming links and possible attendance, will be circulated closer to the trial date, the ICC said.
Duterte refused to attend the conference.
Filipino translation for accessibility
Among the issues raised in the conference was the Prosecution’s request that interpreters be secured for the trial in order for the proceedings be broadcast in Filipino and made more “accessible” to Filipinos.
“There is a lot of interest in this case in the Philippines. I know that’s not the main point and we don’t always do that, but it would be much, much better for the population and the victims in this case if it could be broadcast in Tagalog or the other [Filipino] languages,” chief prosecutor Julian Nicholls said.
He explained: “Part of what we do here is make it accessible to the population in the situation in question.”
Nicholls then proposed workarounds to difficulties in looking for able interpreters, such as calling English-speaking witnesses first.
ICC Trial Chamber III Judge Joanna Korner, in turn, expressed surprise, saying she is under the impression that most Filipinos speak and understand English well.
But Nicholls insisted, arguing that some of the population from which many of the victims in Duterte’s war-on-drugs do not actually speak English well.
“Some of the poorer communities where many of the victims are from do not have a good command,” he said.
Senator soon to join Duterte in prison?
Duterte and his co-conspirators are accused of masterminding and implementing a bloody anti-drug campaign that killed at least 7,000 victims to as many as 30,000 per civil society reckoning.
Three sets of sample cases – from the time when he was Davao City Mayor in 2011 up to the time when he ordered the Philippines’ withdrawal from The Rome Statute in 2018 – had been confirmed by the ICC last April.
The ICC has revealed that it has also issued an arrest order against Duterte’s chief of police in Davao and as president, Senator Ronald dela Rosa. The Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government has announced its manhunt of dela Rosa who may soon join his former boss at The Hague.
Trial Chamber III is composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek and Judge Nicolas Guillou. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
