By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
SAN JUAN CITY – Assistant Counsel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Atty. Cristina Conti, National President of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), on Friday (June 27) said that Belgium has not yet declined as host or third country for the interim release of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Atty. Conti is opposing the petition for interim release with the ICC at The Hague, Netherlands of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who is facing crimes against human charges in connection with his war on drugs that allegedly claimed the lives of six thousand innocent civilians.
The Prosecution at the ICC has also opposed such interim release petition of the former President.
During The Agenda Media Forum at Club Filipino hosted by Atty. Sigfried “Fred” Mison, Atty. Conti said that it’s the first time that a Filipino was detained at The ICC and first Asian at that.
The President of Junta in Myanmar but the first Asian detainee at the ICC is Duterte.
She noted that the detainees at the ICC Detention Facility are mostly Africans and Duterte is the only and first Asian detainee.
Atty. Conti has already gone to the ICC but not yet in the ICC Detention Facility.
Her training at the ICC taught her the rights of the detainee and the matters that can be expected from the ICC Detention Facility, which is not a hotel, but a “bread and breakfast” hostel and the food was cold such as cheese sandwich.
The detainees there have access on the gymnasium, library and internet, but with security check.
Atty. Conti said that the detainees can submit a grocery list such that they can cook their own food.
If there’s no available funds, a “trust fund” can defray the cost of airfare for the victims, who would testify in the trial of the case at the ICC.
Up to 200 minutes per month can be utilized to communicate with the lawyer of the detainee.
It’s not new that an interim release is sought before the ICC, which can be granted if there’s no “flight risk”, however, the ICC early on issued the arrest warrant on Duterte on the grounds of flight risk.
Atty. Conti has already granted an interim release to some detainees with light offenses against Article 70 of the Rome Statute, which would not obstruct and endanger the parties to the case and it would not add up to the commission of another offense.
The ICC can try an 80 years old and above detainee who is fit to stand trial before the court.
The interim release can be on a “case-to-case basis” such as “hospital arrest” and the minimum standards or “Mandela Standard”’ is a 3 meter by 3 meter detention cell.
Atty. Conti stressed that the “redactive portion” or conditions of the interim release sought by Duterte were not revealed to the victims.
She cited that during the Senate hearing on the Davao Death Squad (DDS), Atty. Leila M. De Lima said that DDS operative Arturo Lascanas was even ordered detained by then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Atty. Conti said that the “cooperative country” as agreed upon earlier on the interim release was changed later by the defense.
She added that the “international campaign” being waged by Vice President Sarah Duterte for the interim release of the former President has no effect because there is no such thing as “audience effect”.
Atty. Conti noted that the condition of the detention facility will also depend on the “third country” for the interim release of the detainee of the ICC.
There are two pending issues before the ICC are the interim release and the challenge on the jurisdiction of the ICC because it did not investigate, however, both issues can be addressed during the trial on Sept. 23.
Atty. Conti claimed that there’s a possibility of arrest of some Filipino respondents in the crimes against humanity before the ICC as the investigation is still ongoing where the Philippines should support and cooperate with it.
The ICC has 124 or 125 member countries.
Atty. Conti said that all the more the ICC would not allow the interim release of the former President if he would reason out that he was resoundingly elected as Mayor of Davao City, adding that, it appears that the ICC would not accede to Duterte’s interim release.
“We do not know the parameters or thrusts. We have not yet talked about it,” she said.
“We would not like to fall on the Marcos-Duterte rift,” she added.
“There’s no country on record that has accepted to be willing as host as Third Country in the interim release of the former President and Belgium has not declined it,” Atty. Conti said.
Atty. Conti explained that the charge for crimes against humanity is now pending with the ICC wherein there is a criminal intent over a period of time, the mass murder and systematic attack falls under Republic Act 9851, and the murder charges for the EJK (Extrajudicial Killing) can be filed before the RTC (Regional Trial Court) in the Philippines.
“We both hate drugs, but the means to stop it are different. If a person is charged, you have to confront it according to circumstances,” she said.
Atty. Conti added that of the 7,400 deaths admitted in the police operations, how many resisted police arrest and fought with the police and how many were properly investigated?
“You cannot change darkness with darkness. You can change darkness with light,” she quoted Martin Luther King as saying.
The arrest warrant for crimes against humanity against the former President was issued by the ICC on March 7, 2025 and it was implemented by Filipino law enforcers on March 11, 2025 and for Atty. Conti it would take about three years for the final ruling of the ICC is out in favor or against the former President.
Atty. Conti noted that if the crimes against humanity were committed from March 2019 and the time that we are a member again of the ICC, we cannot approach and file a case with the ICC. ###
