A request for the interim release of former President Rodrigo Duterte is not likely to be granted as he poses a flight risk and may end up intimidating witnesses, a lawyer accredited by the International Criminal Court said yesterday.
Human rights advocates have also called on the ICC to keep Duterte in detention, citing a surge in online harassment and hate campaigns targeting families of EJK victims and witnesses.
“They will have a hard time securing an interim release, especially since the former President is a flight risk,” said ICC-accredited lawyer and Center for International Law chairperson Joel Butuyan in a television interview yesterday.
“There’s also the possibility that witnesses may be intimidated or antagonized, and evidence against him may be tampered with,” he said.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights, a group advocating for justice for drug war victims, warned that Duterte’s continued influence and the actions of his supporters pose serious threats to those seeking accountability.
“The volume of these incidents [is] incontrovertible evidence that Rodrigo Duterte himself and the hate and violent culture he enables remain a threat to victims who dare to speak up or testify,” said Rise Up coordinator Rubylin Litao.
“His penchant for revenge is strong. His record shows his propensity to incite people to take revenge and inflict violence, and, sadly, this has seeped into the minds and behaviors of many,” Litao added.
Human rights lawyer and registered ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti warned there were potential legal implications of the “bullying” behavior of Duterte supporters against the EJK victims’ relatives.
She said under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, offenses against the administration of justice—including threats, intimidation, or retaliation against witnesses and court officials—can lead to additional charges.
“If many believe that due process can be disregarded as long as those labeled as ‘scourges of society’ are eliminated, this proves that the attacks are systematic. These are the very elements that establish crimes against humanity,” she said in Filipino.
Conti emphasized the ongoing climate of intimidation only strengthens the need for the former leader’s continued detention, as allowing Duterte interim release could interfere with the judicial process.
Butuyan said while the ICC allows detainees to apply for interim release pending trial, the defense camp must be able to show the request was an “extreme and urgent necessity.”
“If he argues on the basis of his health, the ICC will conduct an independent medical evaluation. Last Friday, the presiding judge declared him mentally and physically fit,” Butuyan said.
On Monday, Duterte’s former spokesman Harry Roque, also an ICC-accredited lawyer, said his client was brought to the “clinic” of the ICC, but he did not disclose the condition of the former President.
“He is currently in a so-called clinic of the facility because he’s being monitored. The problem was his medicines were lacking,” Roque said in a virtual press briefing.
“Although the doctors there know his medicine, what I last heard was that they were providing him with substitute medicine. That’s why last night, we delivered his actual medicines, along with a letter and prescription, so that he won’t be given substitute medicines,” he added.
Duterte was also provided with slippers and socks, and his meal request for rice was also approved, Roque said.
In his first appearance before the ICC via video conferencing, Duterte’s former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea described him as having “debilitating medical issues.”
ICC pre-trial chamber Presiding judge Iulia Motoc, however, said the court doctor found Duterte to be “fully mentally aware and fit.”