ICC junks defense camp's bid to cut by nearly 50% prosecution's evidence vs Digong

The International Criminal Court Trial Chamber III on Tuesday rejected former president Rodrigo Duterte’s camp’s request to limit the prosecution's evidence to just 10,000 items, or to cut the proposed 18,000 items of evidence by about 50 percent.

The development emerged during the fourth status conference for Duterte’s crimes against humanity a little over a month before the trial scheduled for 30 November.

“I want to make it quite clear that your motion that the evidence should be refiled in the JWP (Judicial Workflow Platform), and the prosecution limited to 10,000 documents is at the moment refused,” Presiding Judge Joana Korner said.

Duterte was present again in the courtroom, seated at the back behind his lawyers, and remained there until the proceedings concluded. The conference lasted almost two hours with minimal breaks. He was clad in a black shirt and a black collared jacket.

Much of the proceedings were dedicated to addressing issues concerning the so-called massive evidence by the prosecution, including a high volume of records related to killings during Duterte’s tenure as Davao City mayor.

The prosecution submitted news articles to be admitted as evidence as part of the documentation that would help establish the patterns of alleged extrajudicial killings during his mayoral period.

Of the 18,000, defense lead counsel Peter Haynes alleged that the “large data set,” comprising 8,393 items of evidence, documented reports regarding deaths in police operations between July 2016 and November 2017.

“I don't know where your honor has got the idea from that the prosecution’s list of evidence is 5,000 items; it's not it's over 18,000,“ Haynes lamented.

Haynes argued that the list runs counter to the chamber's previous suggestion to filter out certain evidence and witnesses to streamline the proceedings, given Duterte’s advanced age.

Presiding Judge Joana Korner initially agreed that the prosecution should only identify the most crucial and “non-negotiable” evidence to advance the trial efficiently.

Appeals for trial breaks

Haynes appealed, asking the court to consider scheduling the trial in blocks of evidence with scheduled breaks in between, arguing that continuous, rigid proceedings could prevent the 81-year-old former president from contacting or seeing his family while his trial is ongoing.

He pointed out that the travel time between the ICC in The Hague and Davao is approximately 30 hours, making it difficult for Duterte’s family members to coordinate visits.

“His family, as you know, are senior politicians, congressmen, mayors, and law students, and they arrange their visits to him a long time in advance to fit their busy professional and family schedules. And you know from the medical evidence you've received how important family visits are to his mental welfare,” he told the chamber.

Korner said the chamber had not made a “definitive decision” on the trial schedule, though it would consider Haynes’ proposal.

At the onset of the conference, Korner proposed a sitting schedule for the initial phase of the trial, starting 30 November and running from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hague time, with multiple short breaks and a reduced one-hour lunch break.

Duterte is expected to personally appear in his trial, especially given that a recent panel of medical experts found that his “general physical health appears to have been optimized,” making him fit to stand trial.