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Janvic Mateo - The Philippine Star
February 14, 2026 | 12:00am
A relative of a victim of an extra-judicial killing attends a memorial mass ahead of All Soul's Day to remember loved ones slain in the government's war on drugs, at the Commission on Human Rights in Manila on Oct. 29, 2021.
AFP / Jam Sta. Rosa
MANILA, Philippines — Pre-trial judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have authorized another 500 victims to participate in the ongoing crimes against humanity proceedings against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In a five-page decision released on Friday afternoon (Manila time), the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I approved the additional 227 applications comprising 500 individual applicants that were earlier transmitted by the ICC Registry.
These were on top of the initial 39 victims that were authorized by the chamber to participate in the proceedings.
These additional applicants were assessed by the ICC’s Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) as under Group A classification, or those who “clearly qualify” as victims.
The chamber earlier adopted an “A-B-C Approach” in the victim admission process for the proceedings.
Those classified as Group B are the ones who “clearly do not qualify” as victims, while Group C assessment is for those “whom the Registry could not make a clear determination for any reason.”
The initial 39 victims were comprised of 29 Group A and 10 Group C applications.
In its ruling, the chamber said it did not identify any clear or material error in the VPRS assessment.
It also appointed lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres as common legal representatives of the victims.
Victims allowed by the ICC to participate will be able to present their views during the proceedings. They are not necessarily witnesses for the prosecution, which is in charge of presenting evidence to prove that the alleged crimes were committed by the respondents.
In addition to victims during the Duterte administration’s drug war, the judges earlier ruled that victims of murder or attempted murder in the Davao area from Nov. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016 also fall within the scope of the Duterte case.
The case against the former president includes killings in relation to activities of the so-called Davao death squad, along with the broader war on drugs campaign until 2019, when the Philippines officially withdrew from the international tribunal.
After several months of delay, Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing will begin on Feb. 23.
VP prays for fair ICC trial
Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday said that she is praying for a fair trial for her father, ahead of his confirmation of charges hearing.
“Our prayer is that the court should be fair. No matter which court it is in the world, that’s our prayer, that the court be fair,” the Vice President said in Davao City.
The former president’s defense counsel has recently sought the disqualification of Filipino lawyers Butuyan and Andres as common legal representative of the victims in ongoing proceedings at the ICC.
The Vice President said that she does not know what will happen.
“What is important is he has lawyers who he meets with regularly now and talks to regularly so they can discuss their preparations,” she said. — Bella Cariaso
