Duterte's counsel working on interim release, but timing yet to be discussed

THE HAGUE – Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team has said they are “working on” filing an interim release but are still deciding on when to apply for such an action before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

After his latest visit with Duterte at Scheveningen Prison, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman told reporters the three factors to avail of an interim release, which he said is “a right” of the former president.

“Interim release [can] only be tempered by three factors. The first of which is the risk of flight, the second of which is the risk of interference of witnesses with the evidence, and the third of which is the risk of continuing crimes. None of those factors exist in the present situation,” Kaufman said.

“There is a right for Mr. Duterte to be released. We are working on that, but the timing of when we intend to introduce such an application is yet to be decided.”

Meanwhile, Kaufman refused to comment on earlier statements in the Duterte camp about whether the 181 initial pieces of evidence submitted by the prosecution is enough to prove crimes against humanity or naming the 30,000 alleged victims of Duterte’s drug war is necessary.

“The victims have a role in the process. We have to respect that role and we hope that everyone will respect that role. Whether or not we agree with what the evidence coming out of the victims is a totally different matter, but we will argue that in court, not here,” he said.

Vice President Sara Duterte has questioned the widely cited figure of 30,000 drug war deaths, saying that the 181 pieces of evidence the prosecution presented to the ICC fall short of proving the scale of alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte's war on drugs.

“How can you prove systematic killing of 30,000 victims if you do not have the names of 30,000 victims? ...and yet we have 181 pieces of evidence. And we don't even have 50 victims. This is 43 counts of murder, not even 50. So, where is the system there of killing thousands? Sorry. Ang bobo yung abogado nila (Their lawyer is stupid)," the vice president said.

Atty. Kristina Conti of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, who represents several victims, responded that it does not require naming every victim to establish that Duterte committed crimes against humanity.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said there is no required number of cases to establish a crime against humanity—one case alone may suffice.

Birthday

Kaufman also told reporters that it was Duterte who requested his supporters to not interfere with the ICC case, and that he was aware of the celebrations on his 80th birthday on Friday.

“That has touched him. He’s been made aware of it and he’s very grateful for that. The family wants to make it clear, and he endorses this, that there should be no interference with the judicial process. He’s aware of what’s going on in the Philippines. Politics will take its course. But that has nothing to do with what’s going on here at The Hague [which] is a judicial process and it should be allowed to run its course.”

Throngs of supporters have visited the Scheveningen Prison since Duterte was taken into ICC custody on March 11. In the past weekend, his supporters conducted “picnic” gatherings to celebrate his birthday.

Duterte was arrested on March 11 in Manila upon his return from Hong Kong, by virtue of an arrest warrant from ICC.

He entered the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison on March 13 (PH time) and appeared before the ICC  via video link on the following day.

The next hearing on the confirmation of the charges has been set for Sept. 23, 2025. —KG, GMA Integrated News