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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider ICC urged to reject Duterte's release as it threatens witnesses' safety

ICC urged to reject Duterte's release as it threatens witnesses' safety

Published Jun 18, 2025 03:35 pm
A human rights lawyers’ group has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to dismiss former president Rodrigo Duterte’s request for interim release from pre-trial detention, citing the threats he continues to pose on the safety of witnesses and the “systematic barriers to accountability” in the Philippines.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte (ICC Photo)
Former president Rodrigo Duterte (ICC Photo)
“As counsel for many of the victims of his violent “war on drugs,” we are gravely concerned that his release from custody will directly threaten the safety, security, dignity, and privacy of victims in the Philippines and abroad, as well as jeopardize the integrity of his pending prosecution for crimes against humanity,” CenterLaw said in a statement on Tuesday, June 17.

“CenterLaw joins widespread calls from victims’ families, Filipino civil society, and the international community of human rights defenders urging the ICC: deny Duterte’s petition for release and continue to prosecute his alleged crimes against humanity in full accordance with international law,” it added.

Even while in detention in The Hague, Netherlands, the organization pointed out the “continuous harassment, intimidation and large-scale vilification levelled by his supporters at those involved in ICC proceedings in the Philippines and The Hague.”

Put against the backdrop of the “widespread and systematic killing of thousands of people,” CenterLaw balked at the appeal for a more “humane treatment” for the former president.

“The drug war victims denied due process and sentenced to summary execution in the streets and homes of the Philippines faced far worse conditions than those Duterte currently confronts in ICC detention,” it added.

Duterte’s lawyers officially filed an application for interim release to an undisclosed location for Duterte. His lawyers said that an ICC member-state has agreed to take the former chief executive in custody.

They also claimed that the prosecution in his case did not raise objections to the interim release request, though this has not been confirmed by the ICC’s prosecution.

CenterLaw likewise stressed that Duterte’s detention should not be separated from the current political context in the Philippines, where the Senate has “shirked their constitutional duty to proceed with the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.”

“The systematic barriers to accountability for elected officials in the Philippines have never been clearer. If the ICC follows this development by releasing Rodrigo Duterte, it will send a clear message to the Filipino public that the powerful are shielded by impunity while their victims remain without recourse or protection,” the statement read.

‘Super senior’

In a press conference this week in Davao City, the Vice President quoted Nicholas Kaufman, lead counsel of the former president, who expressed hope that the request for interim release “will be granted the soonest possible time.”

The younger Duterte underscored the need for her father to be released from ICC’s detention center because of his age.

She noted that the detention facility could not provide everything the former president needs while there. She earlier mentioned that her father does not know how to cook, wash his clothes, and even clean his room.

“Medyo hindi lang siya senior—super senior na siguro ang tawag sa kanya, ma’am dahil 80 years old na siya (He’s not only a senior—he should be called super senior, ma’am, because he’s 80 years old),” the official said.

“Mas maigi na siguro na mayroon siyang interim release at meron siyang available na nurses and caregivers na mag-assist sa kanya (It’s better for him if he will be granted interim release and he can have available nurses and caregivers to assist him),” she added.

The former president, who has been detained since March, is facing crimes against humanity of murder for the thousands killed extrajudicially during his administration’s brutal war on drugs campaign.

He ran and, despite being detained in The Hague since March, won as Davao City mayor in the 2025 polls. He has yet to take his oath of office.

The Vice President was recently in The Hague to visit her father. She celebrated her birthday there last May 31.

Related Tags

VP Sara Duterte ICC Rodrigo Duterte interim release CenterLaw
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