Defense lawyers in the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte have been instructed by International Criminal Court judges to bring their concerns directly to the tribunal rather than airing them through news outlets.
Presiding Judge Joanna Korner of ICC Trial Chamber III delivered the directive during proceedings on Monday, stressing that legal arguments belong in formal hearings. “The appropriate form for counsel to raise matters is in the courtroom. Trials are not conducted by the court of public opinion, but by this court during the course of proceedings,” she said.
The judge pointed specifically to Nicholas Kaufman, who previously represented Duterte, noting that pre-trial judges had already cautioned him about his public remarks. Those remarks followed the April decision by the ICC Appeals Chamber rejecting the defense’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction. “Regrettably, that reminder had no effect,” Korner said.
She also turned her attention to press coverage of the proceedings, calling on journalists to report court statements truthfully and steer clear of conjecture. Korner acknowledged the considerable attention the case has generated back home while flagging a troubling byproduct. “This case has attracted, not surprisingly, a substantial amount of media interest in the Philippines… (It also) appears to have provoked suppliers of what undoubtedly is fake news,” she said.
On a separate front, Malacañang pushed back at critics of President Marcos who appear positioned to seek the presidency, responding after Vice President Sara Duterte likened Marcos to a “bad weed.” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro redirected the characterization toward the former president. “Who has admitted to killing people? Who has admitted to stealing public funds? Who has admitted – and we think it runs in their blood – to having assassins? Who admitted to using marijuana when he was president? All of these were admitted by her father, so maybe the Vice President was accurate in describing her father as a bad weed,” Castro said.
