Lawyer claims Duterte legal team using delaying tactics at ICC

Families of victims of extrajudicial killings under former President Rodrigo Duterte's administration are still seeking justice, with one lawyer accusing Duterte's legal team of employing delaying tactics in the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings.

Lawyer Kristina Conti, an ICC assistant to counsel, believes these tactics are intended to influence public opinion before midterm elections and a potential impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Conti highlighted a specific tactic where Duterte's lawyers sought to disqualify two of the three judges hearing the case, alleging bias due to their prior rulings on related matters.

This disqualification request, filed confidentially alongside a jurisdictional challenge, has left only one judge to hear the case, potentially causing further significant delays.

Conti expressed hope that the hearings would not continue in this manner, emphasizing that victims have already waited eight to nine years for trial regarding Duterte's war on drugs.

Duterte is accused of crimes against humanity for the deaths of an estimated 30,000 people, primarily from impoverished communities, according to Human Rights Watch, though official government data records fewer deaths in the drug war.