On July 3, the International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed the petition from Rodrigo Duterte’s camp seeking to disqualify the two judges handling his case. The ICC plenary rejected Duterte’s request to disqualify or remove Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera and Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou from the Pre-Trial Chamber I.

According to the ICC, the Duterte camp had no basis for alleging that the judges were biased because of their previous involvement in decisions related to the court’s jurisdiction over the case. The ICC clarified that the judges’ job to review legal issues as the case progresses does not mean partiality or bias.

Former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares called Duterte’s petition a “delaying tactic” ahead of his scheduled appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber in September.

“These moves have no purpose other than to slow down the progress of the case and hinder justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings,” Colmenares said in an interview. He added, “Delay tactics should not succeed because the victims and their families already have long waited for justice.”

Duterte’s petition is rooted in the argument that the ICC lost jurisdiction after the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019. The ICC rejected this claim, and its Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) insisted that the court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was an ICC member, from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.

Another delaying tactic is the petition the Duterte camp for his “interim release” or temporary freedom filed on June 12. Victims, their lawyers, and even the ICC prosecution group strongly opposed this. The court is yet to issue a decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, the case against Duterte continues to move forward. On July 1, the ICC submitted the 11th batch of evidence against the former president, including over 1,000 documents covering killings from his time as mayor of Davao City up to his term as president.

For Colmenares and human rights defenders, the ICC’s swift resolution of petitions is crucial to prevent Duterte from evading accountability. “Justice must not be delayed, especially for the thousands of victims of the bloody anti-drug campaign,” Colmenares concluded.