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Metro Manila, Philippines – Former President Rodrigo Duterte may face trial for his crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) beginning Nov. 30 based on a proposal by prosecutors. The prosecution panel said it expects to complete pre-trial preparations by Sept. 30, adding that the proposed timeline would make Duterte’s case “one of the fastest” to proceed to trial following the confirmation of charges. According to the filing, prosecutors still need to complete reviewing evidence, finalizing investigations, preparing witness testimonies, and securing protective measures for witnesses. The prosecution said it plans to rely on around 60 to 70 witnesses during trial, including insider witnesses, crime-base witnesses, and expert witnesses.  Around 25 to 30 witnesses are expected to testify live in court, while others may provide previously recorded testimony. Prosecutors estimated that direct examination of witnesses could take up to 200 hours due to the scale of the…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Saturday called out the Senate for supposedly refusing to receive a subpoena seeking security camera footage and other records related to the May 13 standoff inside the Senate building. Remulla said the subpoena is considered served. “Nagkakaproblema ha ‘yung aming process server, ayaw tanggapin sa Senate, pero may notice na,” Remulla said in an interview. “Hindi ko sila naintindihan. Basta sa akin considered served na ‘yan kahit hindi nila tinanggap.” [Translation: Our process server is encountering problems because the Senate refused to receive it, although notice has already been given. I do not understand them, but for me, it is considered served even if they did not accept it.] The ombudsman also referred to remarks by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on possible charges against National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag, as it showed that Senate officials were aware…

Metro Manila, Philippines — Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, in a letter to his colleagues, said the Senate will convene as an Impeachment Court on Monday, May 18, to prepare for the looming trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. In the letter dated May 15, Cayetano said the chamber had received the House of Representatives resolution containing the Articles of Impeachment and related annexes on May 13. “Pursuant to Rule I of the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials and consistent with its mandate under Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution, the Senate has taken proper order of the impeachment and shall immediately proceed to its consideration,” the letter read. Cayetano said the Senate had communicated its action to the House through a letter addressed to Speaker Bojie Dy dated May 14. He said the Impeachment Court will convene at 3 p.m. The letter also reminded senators to…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Ombudsman Boying Remulla has preventively suspended the Senate sergeant-at-arms, a retired police officer, over his actions on the volley of gunfire at the chamber, and sought a copy of the security camera footage. In a press briefing, Remulla announced that PMGen Mao Aplasca (ret.) was placed under a six-month preventive suspension without pay.  The ombudsman expressed dismay over Aplasca’s actions, in particular at firing the first shot during a standoff with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at the Senate on Wednesday evening, May 13.  The gunshots happened as tensions ran high amid reports of an impending arrest of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who is facing a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over cases related to the Duterte drug war. “It’s worrisome if we allow this to go unpunished and just ignore it. We cannot ignore something of this magnitude,” Remulla said.…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV believes the International Criminal Court (ICC) may next issue arrest warrants for Senator Bong Go and former Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde over alleged crimes linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. In an interview on The Newsmaker, Trillanes said ICC investigations are ongoing even after the tribunal issued arrest warrants against former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. “This is just my assessment, personal assessment. I think Sen. Bong Go is up next and probably General Albayalde,” Trillanes said when asked if more warrants could be expected from the tribunal. He said possible warrants against Go and Albayalde may not come immediately. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon, probably a few months down the road,” the former senator said. The ICC prosecution identified Go and Albayalde among the alleged co-perpetrators in the Duterte case.…