00:00The confirmation of charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte is very important in the International Criminal Court
00:07because it will decide if the case will continue or not.
00:11According to the ICC's attorney, the court will check if there is a widespread or systematic attack on the people
00:17and even if it's just one murder, it can be considered as a crime against humanity.
00:23Marie Zumali is on the scene.
00:24In September, the hearing for the confirmation of charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte for murder as a crime against humanity was scheduled.
00:36But now, the preparation of defense and prosecution is in full swing.
00:40According to the spokesperson of the International Criminal Court, Dr. Fadiel Abdala,
00:45in the hearing, the judges of the pre-trial chamber 1 will decide if the case will be trashed or will be directed to the prosecution.
00:53The prosecutor will be presenting certain amount of evidence on which he intends to rely for the purpose of the confirmation of the charges
01:00and in which the defense can actually be presenting counter evidence.
01:05And also, the lawyers representing the victims will be able to make their observations.
01:10The hearing will probably last for only three days, so it's unlikely that all of them will be able to face each other.
01:17That's why the prosecution should choose the strongest evidence to defend the case against Duterte
01:23which is a systematic attack on his war on drugs that killed the victims.
01:28Witnesses can face each other and they can be placed under cross-examination.
01:34That's why it's possible for Duterte to face the witnesses.
01:38Not all witnesses are victims.
01:40Actually, most of the witnesses are not victims.
01:43And not all the victims are witnesses.
01:45Actually, a very limited number of victims would be called to be a witness.
01:50And normally, most of the victims will be represented by a lawyer.
01:56In very few instances, the judges allowed one or two of the victims to come in person and tell their stories.
02:04But they are not there to accuse someone.
02:06They are there to present their point of view, their observations, and their stories to the judges.
02:11The accusation is done by the prosecutor.
02:13And the witnesses are called by the parties, either the prosecution or the defense.
02:18On September 23, the confirmation of charges hearing of former President Rodrigo Duterte was held here in the ICC
02:24for the case of Crimes Against Humanity.
02:26And it can last up to three days.
02:29But there is a change of waiting for up to 60 days
02:33before the court can issue its decision on whether the case will continue in the trial stage or not.
02:39Up to 60 days.
02:40It can be shorter, but the judges have to issue their decisions
02:45in a maximum of 60 days after the closure of this process of confirmation of charges hearing
02:51and eventually after the written observation if there are requests for written observations.
02:56The decision can still be appealed in the appeals chamber.
02:59In the case of Duterte, the decision on whether the case will continue in the trial stage or not was issued by the Davao Death Squad
03:07and by 24 individuals in the hands of law enforcement.
03:11So if there is a plan that involves a widespread or systematic recurrent attack against the civilian population,
03:18even one murder may be considered a crime against humanity.
03:23Before September 23, Dr. L. Abdala said that the pre-trial chamber can call for a hearing
03:29if there is a need to discuss procedural matters.
03:32It can also call for a hearing to discuss the request of Duterte's camp
03:37for the interim release of whoever will file his defense.
03:41Dr. L. Abdala said that there is still a long process for the trial against Duterte.
03:47But he is confident that the investigation in the ICC will be successful
03:51because they want to use real justice for the right people who are affected by this.
03:56They should trust the justice and trust the impartiality and the objectivity of the work of justice.
04:02From here in The Hague, Netherlands, for GMA Integrated News, Maris Umali for 24 Hours.
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