Former president Rodrigo Duterte has signed a letter waiving his right to attend the first status conference on his crimes against humanity case scheduled on Wednesday, May 27.
The International Criminal Court Trial Chamber III has granted his request to skip the proceeding and ordered his defense lawyers to submit the waiver.
Duterte’s new lead defense counsel, Peter Haynes, attached the signed letter to a notification filed before the trial chamber on May 25.
“In compliance with that order, the defence respectfully attaches the signed waiver as Annex A to this filing, in which Mr Duterte also instructed his lawyers to deal with the procedural matters listed on the status conference agenda, as well as any other matters that may be discussed during the hearing,” the filing read.
The status conference will tackle administrative matters related to the trial against Duterte, including the date to start trial, use of anticipated evidence, languages to be used during proceedings, victims’ participation, and the submission of trial briefs.
The prosecution has proposed Nov. 30 this year to start trial. However, the defense opposed it, saying they would need more time to prepare as they cited past instances when trial began 14 to 19 months after the confirmation of charges.
The Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed the charges against Duterte last April 23.
Duterte remains detained at Scheveningen prison in The Hague, Netherlands after the Trial Chamber III denied his latest request for interim release.
He is facing three counts of murder as crimes against humanity over thousands of killings tied to his anti-drug campaign during his years as Davao City mayor and president.
