Duterte defense seeks stricter ID rules for ICC trial
Metro Manila, Philippines – The legal team of former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to impose tighter requirements for verifying the identities of victims participating in the looming trial on the country’s bloody drug war.
In a filing dated April 7, lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman urged the Pre-Trial Chamber to accept only national identity cards or passports with recent photographs as valid identification, saying the measure would help prevent fraud and strengthen the credibility of victim applications.
“The Pre-Trial Chamber should insist on the production of a national identity card and or a passport containing an up-to-date photograph,” Kaufman said.
He argued that restricting the type of accepted documents would reduce the risk of duplicate claims, misidentification, or the inclusion of false victims, which could result in lengthy litigation.
If primary IDs are unavailable, Kaufman suggested using a "staggered" ID system, similar to the protocol followed by the Social Security System.
“The use of varied and insufficiently verified identity documents could lead to misidentification, double-counting, and the inclusion of false victims – issues that could trigger unnecessary and time-consuming litigation,” he added.
The ICC Registry had earlier allowed applicants to submit any government-issued ID, citing delays in the distribution of the national ID. However, Duterte’s camp criticized the current policy as vague and overly broad.
Kaufman also requested that only the ICC’s Office of Public Counsel for Victims be allowed to represent the victims in court. He warned that allowing victims’ current lawyers to continue filing submissions would double the number of pleadings and further complicate proceedings.
“It will be unwieldy, unnecessarily encumber the Defence, and slow down the proceedings. This will impact on Mr. Duterte’s right to a speedy judicial process,” he argued.
Conti: Proposal 'anti-poor' and discouraging
Kristina Conti, assistant to counsel at the ICC and one of the lawyers representing extrajudicial killing victims, condemned the proposal as "out of touch" and “anti-poor,” noting that many indirect victims - particularly families of those killed - cannot easily obtain passports or national IDs.
“This clearly attempts to reduce the number of participating victims,” Conti said, stressing that participation remains valid even if only a small number of victims qualify.
“It only discourages victims unnecessarily, almost heartlessly. We will, obviously, make a rejoinder supporting the initial proposals of the Victims Participation and Reparations Section,” she added.
Conti emphasized that indirect victims, while separate from prosecution witnesses, are entitled to present their views and concerns during the trial as a third party.
