Former President Rodrigo Duterte appeared for the first time Friday night (Philippines time) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) following his swift arrest on March 11 at the NAIA as he arrived from a Hong Kong trip.
Duterte, who is facing a case for crimes against humanity in connection with his war on drugs, which led to thousands of deaths and summary executions, participated in the hearing through a video link that was streamed by the ICC for public viewing. The court’s presiding judge, Iulia Antoanella Motoc, explained that the hearing was preliminary in nature and lasted only about half an hour, during which the former president was mainly asked to enter his personal information into the court records.
The charges read against Duterte during the hearing pertained to his role in the murder of 19 individuals by the Davao Death Squad (DDS) in Davao City between 2011 – 2016 and the murder of at least 24 persons as drug pushers and drug users by police officers at various locations in the country between 2016-2019. The Philippine government had previously acknowledged over 6,000 deaths under Duterte’s war on drugs, while human rights groups claim the number as over 12,000.
Former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, appearing as Duterte’s legal counsel, sought to postpone the hearing to a later date but was denied by the court.
Medialdea argued before the court that his client’s arrest was a form of forced abduction, describing it as a case of “pure and simple kidnapping”. He also portrayed Duterte’s arrest in the Philippines as a case of “political score-settling” between him and the current administration.
Medialdea’s arguments were largely ignored by the court, and a pre-trial hearing was set for September 23.
