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DUTERTE’S DEFENSE WANTS THE ICC PROSECUTION TO CUT ITS EVIDENCE SUBMISSIONS
Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team has asked ICC Trial Chamber III to limit the prosecution’s evidence to 10,000 items. According to reporting on the September 25 motion, defense counsel Peter Haynes said disclosures had grown from 5,275 items during the confirmation phase to 62,130.
The defense argues that reviewing more than 320,000 pages and over 1,000 audiovisual materials leaves insufficient preparation time before the scheduled November 30 trial. It also alleges duplicate documents, inaccurate descriptions, unreadable files and recordings without translations or transcripts. These are the defense’s objections, rather than findings already accepted by the judges.
For families following the case over alleged drug-war killings, the request concerns how evidence will be organized, reviewed and presented. It does not establish Duterte’s guilt or innocence.
The number of disclosed items cannot tell readers how many are relevant, reliable or ultimately admissible. Equally, the defense’s complaint about volume does not establish that the prosecution’s case is defective. Those questions require examination of the material and the court’s decisions.
WHAT TO WATCH
Watch for the prosecution’s response and the chamber’s ruling on the requested cap and preparation arrangements. Any decision affecting the evidence timetable could also affect whether the November 30 trial opening proceeds as scheduled.