The Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) endorsed two specific professionals from a new shortlist of neuropsychology experts who will determine former president Rodrigo Duterte’s fitness to stand trial.

OPCV Principal Counsel Paolina Massidda, in a five-page filing dated Nov. 10 before the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, said their preferred medical experts “possess the relevant credentials and expertise” to be appointed to the panel of experts who will conduct the medical examination of Duterte.

“Upon reviewing the information provided by the Registry and the experts’ curricula vitae, the Legal Representative considers that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] possess the relevant credentials and expertise for being appointed in the Panel to undertake the medical examination of Mr. Duterte,” Massidda, who represents Duterte’s drug war victims as counsel, said.

The OPCV cited specific qualifications of the two unnamed medical experts based on their professional experience and respective specializations to join the panel.

“For the purposes of efficiently conducting the pre-trial proceedings, including the confirmation of charges hearing, and in light of Mr. Duterte’s ability to fluently communicate in English, the fact that said experts are [REDACTED] is preferable for the selection and appointment in the circumstances of the case,” it said.

“Morever, the fact that they also [REDACTED] is an additional advantage since some of the medical reports had originally been written in [REDACTED],” the OPCV added in the document.

The ICC had previously appointed an initial three-member panel of medical experts to examine Duterte’s health condition. This panel is composed of forensic psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, and an expert in geriatric and behavioral neurology.

However, Duterte’s camp sought to revoke the appointment of one of those experts by submitting a disqualification request.

Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman argued the medical expert lacks experience and has allegedly posted unprofessional content on social media, raising concerns about impartiality.

“The Pre-Trial Chamber is requested immediately to revoke the mandate that it has provided to Dr. [REDACTED] without him being afforded access to Mr. Duterte’s private medical information,” he said in an ICC filing dated Nov. 7.

He also requested to “order the Registrar to refrain from admitting Dr. [REDACTED] to the list of ICC experts.”

This request prompted the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue an order on Oct. 3 for the Registry to submit a new shortlist of neuropsychology experts.

In a separate seven-page filing also dated Nov. 10, the OPCV, through Massidda, responded to such request, saying it “defers entirely to the Chamber’s discretion to resolve the matter.”

Massidda reiterated that “an expert with qualifications in neuropsychology should be included in the Panel assisting the Chamber in determining Mr. Duterte’s fitness to stand trial.”

“Consequently, should the expert not be retained following the Registry’s provision of further information, she respectfully requests the Chamber to identify another suitable qualified expert with the same specialization,” she added.

The former president was last seen on March 14 in a teleconference after he was arrested and extradited to The Hague on March 12.

He was supposed to face the Pre-Trial Chamber for a confirmation of charges hearing on Sept. 23, but this was postponed after his legal team claimed he is unfit to stand trial.

His defense team has also requested for the adjournment of all legal proceedings against the former president based on claims that he has been suffering from declining cognitive abilities, with the ICC appointing a panel of medical experts to assess and examine Duterte.