The International Criminal Court (ICC) has approved the participation of 500 additional victims in the crimes against humanity proceedings involving former president Rodrigo Duterte, expanding the number of individuals officially allowed to take part in the case.
In a five-page decision issued Friday afternoon (Manila time), Feb. 13, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I granted 227 applications covering 500 individuals that had been submitted earlier by the ICC Registry. The approval comes on top of the 39 victims previously authorized to participate in the same proceedings.
The newly accepted applicants were assessed by the ICC’s Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) as falling under Group A, referring to individuals who “clearly qualify” as victims. The chamber has adopted an “A-B-C Approach” for evaluating victim participation requests, where Group B refers to those who “clearly do not qualify,” while Group C includes those “whom the Registry could not make a clear determination for any reason.”
The first batch of 39 authorized victims included 29 applications classified as Group A and 10 under Group C.
In its latest ruling, the chamber said it found no clear or significant error in the VPRS evaluation of the newly submitted applications.
The chamber also named lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres as common legal representatives of the victims.
Victims permitted to participate in ICC proceedings may submit their views during the process, although they are not automatically treated as prosecution witnesses. The prosecution remains responsible for presenting evidence to support allegations that crimes were committed by the respondent.
The ICC has also clarified that the case scope covers not only victims linked to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign as president, but also victims of murder or attempted murder in the Davao area from Nov. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016.
The proceedings involve alleged killings connected to the so-called Davao death squad, as well as deaths linked to the broader war on drugs campaign until 2019, when the Philippines formally withdrew from the ICC.
Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled to begin on Feb. 23 after several months of delay.
Ahead of the hearing, Vice President Sara Duterte said she is praying that the tribunal will handle the case fairly.
“Our prayer is that the court should be fair. No matter which court it is in the world, that’s our prayer, that the court be fair,” she said in Davao City.
The former president’s defense counsel has recently requested the disqualification of Butuyan and Andres as the victims’ common legal representatives.
The Vice President said she is uncertain about what will happen next.
“What is important is he has lawyers who he meets with regularly now and talks to regularly so they can discuss their preparations,” she said.
