Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Harlene Delgado

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/1780719246317icc.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The entrance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen in The Hague, Netherlands. Jerry Lampen, Reuters/File </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Prosecution and the Defense in the International Criminal Court case of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have proposed several amendments to the Directions on the Conduct of Proceedings for the upcoming hearings before Trial Chamber III.</p><p>Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, suggested that applications pursuant to Rule 68 (2) of ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence which governs prior recorded testimony of witnesses should be filed ‘on a rolling basis’ and no later than September 30.</p><p>The same proposal goes for Rule 68 (3) for any witnesses testifying in 2026 and by October 30 for the remainder.</p><p>The Prosecution argued that additional time to submit such applications is necessary given the heavy workload that will be involved in completing its disclosure, submitting the trial brief, final list of witnesses, and list of evidence by August 31.</p><p>“The Prosecution notes that this deadline is one month earlier than the deadline it had proposed to complete all of the necessary pre-trial steps,” it stated.</p><p>The Prosecution also recommended that applications for in-court protective measures be filed by October 30 or a month before the start of Duterte’s trial on November 30.</p><p>“The Prosecution submits that a deadline closer to the commencement of trial would be beneficial as the applications will contain more current information regarding the witnesses’ security situation,” it stated.</p><p>It also disclosed that the Defense did not agree to their earlier proposed deadlines for the Rule 68 applications and did not express a position on the proposed deadline for applications for in-court protective measures while the Legal Representatives of the Victims confirmed their agreement to the deadlines proposed.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/27/duterte-s-icc-trial-to-start-november-30-2028">Duterte&#x27;s ICC trial to start November 30</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>DEFENSE’S PROPOSAL</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, the Defense team also proposed amendments to the Directions on the Conduct of Proceedings which would largely follow the adopted model in the Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman case on war crimes and crimes against humanity.</p><p>In a nine-page document submitted before the Chamber, Duterte’s lead counsel Peter Haynes proposed to veer away from the ‘submission-based regime’ concerning items of evidence as observed in Al-Rahman case and instead pursue a &quot;balance between the admission and the submission regimes.&quot;</p><p>“This balance would assist the Chamber in safeguarding the integrity of the case record, and also in assessing whether the burden of proof has been discharged by the Prosecution at the close of the presentation of its case,” it stated.</p><p>Defense also pointed out its earlier observation ahead of the status conference that the admissibility-based regime “avoids overburdening the record with material of questionable relevance or limited probative value”.</p><p>It also suggested that the Prosecution be directed to provide detailed breakdowns for all witnesses called to testify whose evidence includes prior transcribed interviews.</p><p>This, as the Defense took note of the Chamber’s concern on the volume of Prosecution witness evidence which exists in the form of lengthy suspect interviews.</p><p>“These breakdowns would assist in clarifying the anticipated content and scope of witnesses’ testimony, facilitating the early identification of issues in dispute,” the document read.  </p><p>In terms of witness examinations, the Defense suggested that a party’s decision not to confront a witness with each aspect of its case “should not — in and of itself — result in the Chamber disregarding or assigning reduced weight to impeaching evidence, particularly where the substance of the challenge is otherwise apparent from the record.”</p><p>“Rather, the Chamber should retain the discretion to assess whether the witness was afforded sufficient opportunity to address the matters in dispute and what weight, if any, should be attributed to the relevant evidence,” it added.</p><p>The Defense put forward the amendment by noticing that the directions in Al-Rahman case are “silent on whether a party is required to ‘put its case’ to a witness,” or whether a party is required to present its version of a disputed fact to a witness during questioning, thus giving the witness an opportunity to accept, reject or explain it.</p><p>It argued that “when lengthy prior testimony is admitted into the case record, requiring the parties to then confront the witness with every disputed aspect of that testimony becomes unrealistic.”</p><p>“To do so would consume a disproportionate amount of hearing time, and undermine the efficiency sought by the Chamber.”</p><p>The Defense also proposed that the directions of the proceedings “should discourage the wholesale introduction of extensive items of evidence through witnesses whose testimony pertains only to discrete portions thereof,” citing call data records, reports, long videos or e-messages as examples.</p><p>“Addressing this issue in the Directions may also help circumvent the need for recurrent litigation on this issue,” it said.</p><p>The Defense also requested the Chamber to direct the Registry to provide the parties and participants, on a monthly basis, a disclosure package in the form of a metadata update of all fields related to the evidence used in court.</p><p>This, according to the Defense, is to ensure that the evidentiary record is clear to the parties and participants from the earliest possible stage by having a consistent metadata of documents across all databases.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/6/icc-registry-sets-digital-workflow-redaction-rules-for-duterte-trial-0214">ICC Registry sets digital workflow, redaction rules for Duterte trial</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/IJnp678_-Yw?si=M5QOl6NuTvS4Nw7K" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The Prosecution and the Defense in the International Criminal Court case of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have proposed several amendments to the Directions on the Conduct of Proceedings for the upcoming hearings before Trial Chamber III.</p>

The Prosecution and the Defense in the International Criminal Court case of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have proposed several amendments to the Directions on the Conduct of Proceedings for the upcoming hearings before Trial Chamber III.

Parties in Duterte ICC case propose amendments on conduct of proceedings

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Parties in Duterte ICC case propose amendments on conduct of proceedings

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 06, 2026 12:49 PM PHT

Read More:

ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

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