Defense Team of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte Submits Request to ICC Weeks Ahead of Confirmation of Charges
RODRIGO DUTERTE
– The former President requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to disqualify the three (3) Filipino lawyers who represent the victims in the case.
Former Pres. Duterte remains detained under the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands since March 2025. He was arrested by the Filipino authorities who assisted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) upon his arrival from Hong Kong.
Recently, amid the ongoing detention of the former President in The Hague, Netherlands, the
ICC has set a new schedule for the confirmation of charges against former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
. It is scheduled on February 23.
According to the International Criminal Court, all hearings are set to start at 10:00 a.m. and there will be three (3) sessions in every hearing along with 30-minute and 90-minute breaks. With regards to the hearing on the review of the detention of Duterte, it is set on February 27.
Joel Butuyan
Gilbert Andres
Nicolene Arcaina
Based on the
post
, Duterte’s camp also want the access of the three (3) aforementioned lawyers on the case record suspended. The camp of the former President made the request through an 11-page document submitted by the legal team led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman to the Pre-Trial Chamber I.
Duterte’s team asked the Chamber to order the Registry to suspend the access of the Filipino lawyers. They are seeking the lawyers’ disqualification on the grounds of an alleged impediment to representation and on the basis of alleged conflict of interest. They stressed that Butuyan and Andres supposedly have a relationship with Arcaina having worked together at CenterLaw Philippines.
Previously, Vice Pres.
Sara Duterte revealed the side of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte with regards to his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman