The lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Nicholas Kaufman, was not at all surprised of the March 6 decision of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court which had the effect of his client remaining in detention indefinitely.
Interviewed March 7 by The Hague–based vlogger Alvin Dave Sarzate. Kaufman simply said: “The former president has already made his views known regarding the prospects of release in his waiver.”
In his five-sentence Feb. 23 waiver, Duterte said, “ I, Rodrigo Road Duterte, have been explained by my counsel that an annual hearing must take place in order to review my detention.
“I understand I have a right to attend this hearing which is presently scheduled 27 February 2026. However, I wish to waive this right.
“My counsel has explained to me the legal consequences emanating from such a waiver and I trust him and my ICC legal team to represent me faithfully.
“I do not wish to follow the hearing from outside the courtroom through the use of communication technology.”
It was in the Feb. 17 waiver on his attendance to the Feb. 23 – 27 confirmation of charges hearings that he said, “ I do not wish to attend legal proceedings that I will forget within minutes. I am old, tired, and frail. 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.”
Duterte is currently detained in Scheveningen penitentiary, three kilometers away from the ICC offices in The Hague, Netherlands.
Even his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing her own political battles in the local front, said they have stopped thinking of her father’s return. In an interview in Iligan City Feb 24, she said: “Hindi na namin tinitingnan ‘yung chances of coming home.”
That’s why Kaufman resorted to theatrics in his closing session telling the court about Duterte’s face lighting up when he showed him letters from his daughter Kitty and photos of his sons ,Pulong and Baste, at work. But it didn’t work.
On March 6, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC, which is also referred to as the Court, rejected the appeal of Kaufman against the Jan. 26 decision of the Pre-trial Chamber that Duterte was fit for pre-trial proceedings and rejected his request for an indefinite adjournment.
Kaufman argued that the PTC “erred in fact and in law, and abused its discretion” when it disregarded a report concerning the health condition of the former president who will be turning 81 on March 28 as assessed by medical experts he hired.
The PTC hired a panel of medical experts who declared Duterte is fit to stand pre-trial hearings for the charges of crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder of thousands of people between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 in the course of his war on drugs campaign.
In its 29-page decision, the Court ruled with finality: “Having rejected or dismissed all of the Defence’s arguments, the Appeals Chamber rejects the Defence’s ground of appeal in its entirety.”
Still pending is ICC’s decision on the Duterte’s appeal on the issue of jurisdiction.
The PTC, on the other hand, has 60 days from Feb. 27 to decide whether to confirm or not the charges against Duterte. If it confirms, even just one of the charges, the next step is trial proper. Whether Duterte will attend and confront his accusers or waive again his right to appear in court, he will remain in Scheveningen prison.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
