Sen. Robin Padilla criticized the Prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it opposed former President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to waive his appearance at the confirmation of charges hearing linked to his administration’s war on drugs.
“It’s the right of the accused. I thought the prosecution studied law?” Padilla said in an online interview.
The senator, a known Duterte ally, stressed that the former president has the right not to appear in court, especially given his age.
“Karapatan ng accused yun kung ayaw nyang humarap e lalong lalo na matanda na siya. Karapatan niya yun, human rights. Lahat ng klase ng law pwede niyang gamitin para hindi sya lumabas dyan,” he said
Padilla also raised concerns about how Filipinos might react upon seeing Duterte in court, suggesting that his age and appearance could be mocked.
He urged the ICC to allow Duterte’s lawyers to represent him at the confirmation hearings scheduled to begin on February 23.
In a written request dated February 18, Duterte reiterated that he does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and claimed he was “kidnapped” when he was arrested in Manila on March 11 last year in connection with crimes against humanity charges filed against him in The Hague, Netherlands.
“I am a Filipino citizen forcibly pushed into a jet and renditioned to The Hague in the Netherlands in flagrant contravention of my country’s Constitution and of national sovereignty. My kidnapping was facilitated by the office of the incumbent President of the Philippines with a plane specially chartered for this purpose,” Duterte said in his letter.
He added that he no longer wished to attend legal proceedings, saying he might forget them within minutes due to his condition.
“I am old, tired, and frail,” he wrote. “I wish for this Court to respect my peace inside the cell it has placed me. I have accepted the fact that I could die in prison.”
However, in a six-page filing signed by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, the prosecution asked ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to deny Duterte’s request, arguing that “there is no reasonable cause” for him not to appear at the confirmation hearing.
