Lawyers for detained former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte say that he suffers from significant cognitive deficiencies that affect his fitness to stand trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In March, the 80-year-old was arrested in Manila on an ICC arrest warrant and transferred to the custody of the court. There, he faces charges of crimes against humanity for extrajudicial killings carried out during his violent “war on drugs” campaign, a flagship policy of his administration between 2016 and 2022.
In a 13-page application dated August 18, but only made available by the ICC yesterday, Duterte’s chief counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, requested the indefinite adjournment of all legal proceedings in the former leader’s case, Inquirer.net reported.
“Mr. Duterte is not fit to stand trial as a result of cognitive impairment in multiple domains. Mr. Duterte’s condition will not improve and, for this reason, the Pre-Trial Chamber must adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely,” Kaufman stated in the application.
It added that Duterte suffers from significant cognitive deficiencies that affect his memory, his executive functioning, his visuo-constructive abilities, and his orientation to place and time while “limiting his capacity for complex reasoning.”
Kaufman’s request led the Pre-Trial Chamber I to postpone on September 8 a confirmation of charges hearing scheduled to take place on the 23rd. In a statement, the court said that “the majority of the Chamber considered that a limited postponement of the hearing on the confirmation of charges was warranted to allow sufficient time to adjudicate the request and related matters.” It stated that the Pre-Trial Chamber will set a new date “once it has addressed such outstanding matters.”
Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, which began the moment that he was sworn into office in mid-2016, was modeled on the tough approach that he employed during his years as mayor of Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao. Estimates of the number killed during the anti-narcotics campaign range from a few thousand to as high as 30,000. Most were young men in congested urban areas who were shot dead during “encounters” with police, but the victims also included children and other innocents who were caught in the crossfire.
The August 18 application is not the only attempt that Duterte’s lawyers made to help their client avoid trial. In June, they requested that the court allow his interim release to an unnamed third country.
Citing his “advanced age,” Kaufman argued that there were “compelling humanitarian grounds” for the chamber to grant Duterte’s interim release, although the specifics of this were also redacted from the publicly released filing.
Kaufman argued that Duterte did not pose a flight risk, was committed to showing up in court for this trial, and would not commit additional crimes during his interim release. “Mr Duterte is no longer the President of the Philippines, and does not command the same influence or power he is said to have abused during the period of the alleged crimes,” the request stated.
The true state of Duterte’s health is unclear, and his defense team has every incentive to exaggerate the extent of his debility. However, given his advanced age and recent history of erratic and aggressive public statements, it is very likely true that he is ailing significantly enough to affect his fitness to stand trial. In any event, given his age and the glacial pace of ICC proceedings, it is as likely as not that Duterte will somehow evade trial.