Unrest, spamming could backfire on possible Duterte interim release appeal

Metro Manila, Philippines - A lawyer accredited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) shared factors that could convince judges to grant an interim release for former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In an online forum on Monday, March 17, lawyer Joel Butuyan said judges’ considerations are an extreme and urgent necessity, no risk of life, no risk of tampering with evidence, and no risk of potential intimidation of witnesses.

"With the ongoing political unrest, I think all these risks are present, and I'm sure that ICC judges will take note," he said.

For Butuyan, Duterte would remain under ICC jurisdiction.

READ: Duterte faces ICC ‘virtually’; confirmation of charges hearing on Sept. 23

ICC reviews an interim release application every year, he said.

Butuyan said a disinformation campaign and spamming on social media could affect a possible application by Duterte for interim release.

Digital contents which show support to Duterte, including fake quotations from fictional characters, have been proliferating online. Some Duterte supporters even comment on the ICC judges’ LinkedIn profile.

Butuyan said this could backfire on Duterte.

“Makikita ng mga judges na sobrang powerful talaga ‘yung forces ng Duterte camp dahil hanggang sa ICC ay pwede silang i-bully and i-harass and i-attempt na i-manipulate,” the lawyer said.

[Translation: The judges will see that the Duterte camp’s forces are powerful because even the ICC could be bullied, harassed, and attempted to be manipulated.]

READ: Fact check reportage on Duterte ICC battle - media professor

Possible conviction

British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman will be Duterte’s lead counsel.

Butuyan said he is confident that the evidence against Duterte is “airtight” and conviction will be achieved regardless of the counsel.

“You can be the best and the brightest defense lawyer in the world. But with a client who provided the ammunition to the prosecution, like in this particular case, I don’t know how you can actually obtain an acquittal,” the ICC-accredited lawyer said.

If convicted, Butuyan said Duterte would be detained in an ICC member state jail facility that complies with international standards.

“Most of the time, ‘yung mga [the] ICC convicts, they serve time sa [in] European countries… I don’t think there will ever be a chance na [that] any Philippine convict in the ICC will serve time in the Philippines dahil ‘yung ating [because our] jail facilities hindi [are not] compliant with international standards,” said Butuyan.

Asked if there is a chance for the 79-year-old former president to be released for humanitarian reasons, Butuyan said that age is never a factor.

“There is no such thing as humanitarian release. Even in the Philippines, actually there’s no such rule set in stone. It’s just jurisprudence practiced by judges and the Supreme Court,” he explained.

Duterte has been arrested for crimes against humanity over his war on drugs that killed up to 30,000 individuals.

Butuyan said most ICC trials take eight to 10 years.