đź“·: Former Bayan Muna Congressman and human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares
Former Bayan Muna Congressman and human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares hit the latest maneuver by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team to disqualify two International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial judges as another desperate attempt to derail justice for victims of extrajudicial killings.
“The Duterte camp is simply recycling their failed arguments with a new twist—now they want to disqualify the judges who already ruled against them. This is a classic tactic of the guilty: when you can’t challenge the evidence, attack the court,” Colmenares said.
He pointed out that the defense’s 11-page request to disqualify Pre-Trial Chamber 1 Judges Rene Adelaide Alapini-Gansou and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera reveals the weakness of their position on the jurisdiction issue.
“They’re essentially saying that judges who have studied the case and made informed decisions based on international law should be removed simply because those decisions weren’t favorable to Duterte. This undermines the entire judicial process,” Colmenares explained.
“Paulit-ulit lang ang argumento ng kampo ni Duterte. Noong hindi pumayag ang mga hukom na kusang mag-inhibit, ngayon gusto naman nilang i-disqualify ang mga ito. Malinaw na wala na silang maisip na paraan para ipagtanggol si Duterte kaya ang mga hukom na ang inaatake nila,” he added.
Colmenares emphasized that the ICC’s procedures already ensure due process and impartiality, and that the judges’ previous involvement in jurisdictional decisions does not constitute bias.
“The Rome Statute’s procedural safeguards are designed precisely to allow judges to make sequential decisions in complex cases. What the Duterte camp is doing is forum-shopping—trying to find judges who might be more sympathetic to their weak arguments on jurisdiction,” he said.
“Ang katotohanan, natatakot sila na maharap sa hustisya si Duterte. Itong panibagong taktika ay pagpapatunay lamang na wala silang matibay na depensa sa mga akusasyon ng pagpatay at krimen laban sa sangkatauhan,” Colmenares asserted.
The former lawmaker also noted that the defense team’s argument that judges should be disqualified for having “formulated a firm opinion” on jurisdiction is absurd given the nature of international criminal proceedings.
“By that logic, no judge who has ever ruled on a preliminary matter could continue to hear a case. This would paralyze the entire international justice system,” Colmenares said. “The Duterte camp is not interested in a fair trial—they’re interested in avoiding a trial altogether.”
“Hindi nila kayang harapin ang katotohanan kaya gumagawa na lang sila ng mga dahilan para maantala ang proseso. Pero tulad ng sinabi ko noon, hindi maitatago ang mga krimen ni Duterte sa likod ng mga teknikalidad at procedural tactics,” he concluded.
Colmenares called on the Filipino people and the international community to remain vigilant against these delaying tactics and to continue supporting the quest for justice for the thousands of victims of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.#
