VICE President Sara Duterte believes there is a conflict of interest on the part of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan which led to his disqualification from the trial of the crimes against humanity filed against her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I have not read the papers to know the contents of the decision to disqualify (Khan), but my understanding was he really had conflict of interest because he previously represented the alleged or supposed witnesses,” the Vice President told reporters in Zamboanga City on Wednesday.
Duterte was referring to Khan’s participation in 2018 in the legal team representing more than 100 victims of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The team petitioned then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to apply with the Pre-Trial Chamber for authorization to open an investigation into the Philippines’ situation.
When asked if the decision would be better for her father’s defense, Sara said what matters most was the defense’s preparations against all possible evidence that the prosecution might raise against them.
“For the prosecution, it does not matter who is the prosecutor because they will do the same job of investigating and the same case build-up,” she said in Filipino.
“So what is really important is the preparation of the defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte against any witnesses or evidence the prosecution might raise,” she added.
In August, the Duterte defense team sought Khan’s disqualification from the case, arguing that Khan’s former representation of an alleged policy of extra-judicial drug-related killings in the Philippines and his role in the trial of Duterte can be considered as an “irreconcilable conflict of interest”.
Meanwhile, Sara confirmed that her younger sisters, Veronica and Mira, are preparing to spend Christmas and New Year with their father in The Hague.
She also admitted that the former president has been struggling emotionally “He is sad about what is happening in the country. He is frustrated and sleepless because he could not be of help. He wanted to do something about the corruption in the government,” Sara said.
Asked about allegations of corruption in her father’s administration, Duterte said critics should not be selective in their accusations.
She also said corruption has long been a national problem that has only worsened in recent years.
Duterte also challenged investigators to look into all cases fairly, including those involving allies of the current administration.
“They should dig into everything about me—but they should not be selective. They should also look into the swift dismissal of the drug case involving his son and other possible cases of his allies,” the Vice President said.
She described the Marcos administration’s anti-corruption rhetoric as “political scapegoating,” saying it diverts attention from its own lack of accomplishments.
