The International Criminal Court (ICC) has denied the request filed by former president Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers to disqualify two judges from hearing the case against him.
In a decision dated July 3, the plenary of judges said it found no grounds to doubt the impartiality of Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera.
“The plenary of judges, acting unanimously, considers that no actual nor reasonable apprehension of bias arises in respect of Judges Alapini-Gansou and Flores. The plenary of judges considers that the judges acted, at all times, in accordance with the judicial duties assigned to them under the (Rome) Statute,” read the order signed by ICC President, Judge Tomoko Akane.
In their request, the defense counsels claimed the two judges had pre-judged the case against Duterte since the magistrates took part in earlier proceedings before Duterte’s arrest which determined whether the ICC continued to have jurisdiction following the former president’s order for the Philippines to withdraw from the Rome Statute in March 2019.
Meanwhile, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor has submitted the 11th batch of evidence against Duterte for his crimes against humanity case in connection with his “drug war.”
Based on a document dated July 1, the prosecution team presented over a thousand pieces of new evidence to ICC.
Duterte’s defense team, according to a report on GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita on Friday.
The new pieces of evidence presented include information on the killings allegedly committed by the “Davao Death Squad” during Duterte’s term as Davao City mayor, and the killings in barangay clearance operations during his presidential term.
For her part, ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti said in Filipino that a recent survey showing that the majority favors rejoining the ICC shows that the, “People are thirsty for justice, and they believe that only an international court can deliver the justice that cannot be obtained in the Philippines.”
She was referring to OCTA’s Tugon ng Masa nationwide survey, conducted from April 20 to 24, that showed that 57% of Filipinos want the country to rejoin the ICC while 37% are opposed to the move, and 6% remain undecided.