Defense wants 2 ICC witnesses vs Duterte, Bato dropped

MANILA, Philippines — The defense counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte has asked trial judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to block two of the witnesses that the prosecution intends to present in the upcoming crimes against humanity trial.

In a six-page public redacted response dated Nov. 9, defense counsel Peter Haynes said the “probative value” of the prior recorded testimonies of P-1334 and P-1348 “is so limited that they should be removed from the witness list.”

“In the event that Trial Chamber III decides to admit the evidence… the defense, which does not intend to cross-examine the witnesses given the marginal value of their testimony, submits that the Chamber should not rely on those passages that directly go to the alleged acts and conduct of Mr. Duterte,” he added.

The prosecution previously asked the chamber to admit the prior recorded testimonies of the two witnesses ahead of Duterte’s trial, saying that these are “relevant” to the contextual elements of the ongoing crimes against humanity case.

In response, the defense argued that the two proposed witnesses “were both absent for almost the entire period charged under Counts 2 and 3,” referring to the charges related to killings during the Duterte administration’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs.

Count 1 involves alleged killings by the so-called Davao death squad.

“The witness expressly confirmed that she has no personal knowledge of how instructions were conveyed by Mr. Duterte, through Bato Dela Rosa, to the [REDACTED] leadership. She never saw Dela Rosa do anything of the sort, and recognized that her account is based on stories she had heard,” the defense filing read, referring to witness P-1334.

Dela Rosa, now senator, was chief of the Philippine National Police during Duterte’s drug war. He is currently in hiding due to the separate arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC.

Meanwhile, the defense pointed out the supposed lack of probative value of the testimony of witness P-1348, stressing that she “cannot speak from personal experience on the alleged quotas to kill criminals.”

“Not only is she unable to provide any details, she also seeks to fill this gap by relying on conjecture,” the defense said. “Her evidence appears to have been shaped by information obtained from news reports and social media concerning the nanlaban narrative, rather than by any direct familiarity with the events.”

The defense urged the judges to order the prosecution to drop them from the witness list.

But in the event that the chamber decides to grant the application, it requested that it only admit “those parts of the statements that relate to proof of matters other than the acts and conduct of the accused.”

The judges have yet to rule on the prosecution’s request. It was filed ahead of Duterte’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30.

41% see fair trial

About four in 10 Filipinos have much confidence that the ICC will conduct a fair trial against Duterte, a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 21 to 27, found that 41 percent of the respondents have much confidence in ICC’s fairness in the upcoming crimes against humanity trial against the ex-president.

It went down from 44 percent in a similar survey in June, but still higher than the 29 percent in March.

Meanwhile, those who had “little confidence” in the ICC’s fairness hardly moved, from 27 percent to 26 percent, while undecided respondents increased from 29 percent to 33 percent.

Based on the survey, more than half of the respondents or 55 percent follow the news on the ICC case against Duterte.

The percentage of respondents who follow news about the case significantly dropped from 72 percent in June. It was at 80 percent in November 2025.

The survey had 1,500 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent, conducted months before the start of Duterte’s trial on Nov. 30.

Bato in Mindanao?

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation is validating reports that Dela Rosa is in Mindanao as authorities intensify efforts to serve an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said yesterday the agency had received numerous tips about the senator’s possible whereabouts, but stressed that these were still being checked.

The senator’s possible presence in Mindanao was discussed during a closed-door coordination meeting yesterday involving the Department of Justice, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, BARMM ministers and governors and other Mindanao officials.

Matibag said he asked local officials to share any information that could help authorities locate Dela Rosa, without singling out any particular area.

The NBI, Matibag said, has maintained dedicated search units and continues to monitor leads through intelligence gathering, open-source information and its technical capabilities.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Philippines urged the government to promptly execute the ICC warrant and cooperate fully with the tribunal.

“Families who lost loved ones in the ‘war on drugs’ have spent years demanding justice. They deserve action on the warrant and protection from reprisals as they pursue accountability,” Ritz Lee Santos III, section director of Amnesty International Philippines said. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Artemio Dumlao