An international law expert has criticized the latest maneuver by detained former president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team, saying their claim of his alleged “deteriorating cognitive condition” is an unfounded attempt to stall the trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Joel Butuyan, president of the Center for International Law, stressed that even Duterte’s own children have repeatedly assured the public that their father remains mentally fit.
“For me, the heaviest evidence is the behavioral evidence of Mr. Duterte. We can see this in the statements of relatives who visited him. His children were interviewed several times. They said Mr. Duterte is OK. He even joked with them. They talked about the past, present and future. He said he has no regrets in what he did and he’s willing to face whatever the consequences are,” Butuyan said in a radio interview.
Butuyan argued that such testimony outweighs the medical findings presented by the defense. He described the petition, which was filed on August 18 seeking Duterte’s release on health grounds, as part of a “pattern of delaying tactics.”
“They want to almost disqualify everyone. They tried to disqualify the judges. They tried to disqualify the ICC because they said there’s no jurisdiction. They tried to disqualify the prosecutor. Now that there’s no result, they are disqualifying Mr. Duterte from undergoing trial,” he added.
The lawyer also highlighted the frustration of families of the thousands of victims of the bloody drug war, who continue to wait for justice. “The victims have been waiting for a long time to get justice. It’s been almost 10 years since the recent killings in our country. Close to 30,000 people were killed. If their client is innocent, evidence should be laid down so that the fight should be on evidence and not technicalities,” he said.
Meanwhile, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang opposed Duterte’s request for interim release, pointing to public remarks by Vice President Sara Duterte and other family members who continue to undermine the legitimacy of the court. Niang cited Sara’s speech in The Hague where she described her father as having been “kidnapped” and even joked about breaking him out of detention.
Niang said such statements prove why Duterte should remain detained, warning that release would give him access to allies “actively attempting to interfere with the proceedings.”
Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman countered that Duterte’s supposed failure to address such remarks does not mean he is a flight risk. He insisted that an independent prison neuropsychologist has already recognized the former leader’s cognitive decline.
The ICC, however, has made clear that the trial will move forward despite the defense’s latest bid to halt proceedings indefinitely.
