Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Jonathan Magistrado

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17770742131541777074210238.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands. </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has filed a request to reclassify a confidential &quot;Defense Response&quot; in the case of Rodrigo Duterte as a public document.</p><p>The filing, dated April 24, 2026, seeks to clarify for the public that six Filipino lawyers are not in the former president&#x27;s defense team at The Hague, the Netherlands.</p><div> </div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02aCFoSp3wPVkyShXZDZUza5ALE56BwDhgp5FGKANUmkmL45BpLjad9seWyCroTCKCl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="250" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div> </div><p>The lawyers mentioned are former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, Martin Delgra, Silvestre Bello, Alfredo Lim Jr., and Cesar Dulay.</p><p>Panelo previosuly said he has <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/26/sal-panelo-says-he-s-applying-to-become-an-icc-accredited-lawyer-0655">applied for accreditation by the ICC</a>.</p><p>While the Defense claimed the redaction was intended to &quot;protect the dignity&quot; of the lawyers, the Prosecution argues that this justification is insufficient to override the principle that court proceedings should be public.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/22/medialdea-panelo-among-ex-duterte-officials-in-filipino-team-for-icc-hearing-1405">Medialdea, Panelo among ex-Duterte officials in Filipino team for ICC hearing<br/></a></div><p>The Prosecution asserts that transparency is necessary to reassure potential witnesses and victims and to prevent a &quot;chilling effect&quot; on its ongoing investigations, particularly given the lawyers&#x27; high-level government ties during the period when the alleged crimes occurred.</p><p>&quot;It is also unclear how confirming to the public that these lawyers do not work for the Defense team would negatively impact their &#x27;dignity&#x27;, to the extent that it is even a consideration. The Defense previously took the position that the Defense Response [REDACTED] and has provided no explanation for its sudden change in position,&quot; the filing stated.</p><p>On the other hand, the Defense argued that the Prosecution’s initial premise regarding the lawyers&#x27; membership was &quot;wholly incorrect and unwarranted.&quot;</p><p>Duterte&#x27;s lawyers asserted that the purpose of the Prosecution’s request had already been fulfilled by confirming that confidential materials were not shared with the six lawyers.</p><p>Seeking to resolve the dispute privately, the Prosecution contacted the Defense on March 30, 2026, to request that the filing be reclassified as public, asserting there was no valid basis for the redactions.</p><p>The Prosecution expressed a preference for settling the matter between them rather than involving the chamber.</p><p>However, the defense refused the request that same day, arguing that the redactions were necessary to &quot;protect the dignity&quot; of the six lawyers and warning against any intent to humiliate them.</p><p>Consequently, the Defense declined to move for reclassification, maintaining that the redactions did not impact any matters of concern.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/8/icc-prosecution-seeks-clarity-on-filipino-lawyers-role-with-duterte-legal-team-2153">ICC prosecution seeks clarity on Medialdea, Panelo, others lawyers&#x27; role with Duterte legal team</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3oEA5QmOenI?si=ImWLfEpgXlMSa_3b" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court filed a request to reclassify a confidential "Defence Response" in the case of Rodrigo Duterte as a public document.</p>

The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court filed a request to reclassify a confidential "Defence Response" in the case of Rodrigo Duterte as a public document.

Prosecution seeks to publicize status of Duterte's ICC legal team

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Prosecution seeks to publicize status of Duterte's ICC legal team

Jonathan Magistrado,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 25, 2026 08:32 AM PHT

Read More:

ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

International Criminal Court

The Hague

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