Drug War Victims' Lawyers Fight Back: Urge ICC to Reject Duterte Defense Team's Latest Appeal
The legal battle over Rodrigo Duterte's crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court is getting more intense by the week. Lawyers representing drug war victims have just asked the ICC to shut down yet another attempt by Duterte's defense team to delay the proceedings — accusing them of using dilatory tactics.
In a filing submitted on March 13 before ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, victims' lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres urged the court to deny the defense's application to appeal an earlier ruling. The defense had tried to disqualify Butuyan and Andres as external common legal representatives for the victims — and failed. Now they want to appeal that rejection.
The victims' lawyers didn't mince words. "The bulk of the defense's arguments focus on its disagreements with the submissions of Mr. Butuyan and Mr. Andres," the filing stated, adding that the defense "merely expresses its disagreement with the outcome" rather than presenting valid legal grounds for an appeal under the Rome Statute.
The dispute centers around Nicolene Arcaina, who serves as case manager for the victims' legal team. Duterte's lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman argued that Arcaina previously worked at CenterLaw — the firm where Butuyan and Andres are partners — claiming a potential conflict of interest. The Pre-Trial Chamber already rejected this argument on February 20, but Kaufman filed an appeal application just hours later.
Duterte has been detained at the ICC since his arrest, with multiple applications for interim release all denied. His confirmation of charges hearing concluded on February 27, and the court is still deliberating on whether there are substantial grounds to proceed to trial. The 80-year-old former president faces three counts of crimes against humanity connected to the drug war that killed an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 people.
Source: The Manila Times
