A video posted on Facebook Reel claims that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dismissed with finality the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte. This is false.
The video is old and shows a clip from the swearing-in ceremony of five ICC judges in 2012, not the court’s hearing or dismissal of Duterte’s case.
Uploaded on May 9, the video’s superimposed text read:
“THE ICC Final Dismissal FPRRD. New Development sa ICC Case ni Tatay Digong.”
Reverse image search revealed that the video was originally uploaded on ICC’s YouTube channel on March 9, 2012, more than a decade before Duterte was ordered arrested by the court via a warrant coursed through the Interpol.
It shows then-ICC President Judge Sang-Hyun Song delivering his opening remarks for the swearing-in ceremony of five new judges; namely, Howard Morrison from the United Kingdom, Anthony T. Carmona from Trinidad and Tobago, Olga Herrera Carbuccia from Dominican Republic, Robert Fremr from Czech Republic and Chile Eboe-Osuji from Nigeria.
The late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who was elected as ICC judge in 2011, was supposed to join this oath taking ceremony but could not make it due to her declining health.
Duterte has been detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands while he awaits the confirmation of charges against him on Sept. 23.
Since Duterte’s arrest by the ICC on March 11, VERA Files Fact Check has debunked several false claims that the international tribunal has dismissed the case against the former president.
Uploaded by Facebook user BAi Manisan Ako, the reel has so far received 288,000 views and 4,346 interactions.
