Former President Rodrigo Duterte has requested a visit from his legal counsel and family members at his detention cell at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

In a statement on Friday morning, the Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands said Duterte sought its assistance through a call from an ICC detention officer at 3:41 p.m. (Central European Time).

During the call, the former chief executive, who was brought to the ICC to answer charges of alleged crimes against humanity, conveyed, among other things, that he “underwent a medical checkup and received medical care and that he is generally fine.”

“The former president then requested a visit by embassy officials, and also asked the embassy to assist in the request for a visit by his legal counsel and family members,” the embassy said.

“Thereupon, the embassy made a request to the Registry of the ICC to facilitate a consular visit to the former president as soon as possible. The embassy also made a followup on the request for a visit by his legal counsel and his family members,” it added.

“As may be recalled, upon arrangements by the embassy, ICC officials handed to the former president upon arrival at the Rotterdam-The Hague Airport on Wednesday the names and contact numbers of embassy officials who could be reached by mobile phone for any consular assistance that he may need,” it continued.

On the same day, the embassy said Duterte had a chance to talk to his former executive secretary, Salvador Medialdea, whom he wants to be one his counsels in the ICC proceedings.

Duterte is scheduled to make his initial appearance before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 at 9 p.m. (Philippine Standard Time) on Friday, 14 March.

‘Light a candle for pa’

Meanwhile, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, the younger daughter of the former president, called on Filipinos to light a candle and pray for her father ahead of his first appearance before the tribunal.

“I am calling on you, not as his supporters, but as Filipinos to stand for what is right and light a candle, whether you are in the Philippines or abroad. Let us be one in prayer and one in upholding our rights to this sovereignty,” she wrote in an Instagram post on Friday afternoon.

Roque shows up

The elder Duterte is charged with murder qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

At this writing, it was reported that Duterte’s former spokesperson Harry Roque and Senator Robin Padilla have joined Vice President Sara Duterte at The Hague.

In another development, former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said at a colloquium hosted by the UP College of Law on Friday that the likelihood of Duterte being tried in the Philippines for his alleged crimes against humanity would be challenging, especially after the ICC formally took jurisdiction of his case.

“I cannot imagine the scenario. The opportunity was there for many years to prosecute him, which they did not do. Many people were talking about Republic Act 9851, which would have been the perfect opportunity to keep him here,” Te said.

Republic Act 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, was authored by the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and enacted in December 2009.

Te said that if Duterte was charged with that law, a legal procedure in the ICC might have been prevented.

Professor Emeritus Raul Pangalangan, a former justice of the International Criminal Court, said he had not heard of a case where the extradition back of an accused was requested by his own country, adding that the procedure might be complicated.

“I’m completely at a loss. What motion will be filed? How to justify it in a way compatible with the court over the case?” he said.

“I cannot see what motion, what document would be filed by the prosecutor to the ICC to say that we will give him back to the Philippines,” Te said.

Legal experts said the principle of complementarity, which allows the ICC to step in only if national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute, is unlikely to apply to Duterte’s case given the current status of the charges against him.

“There is no such case against Duterte in the Philippines and therefore what complementarity are we talking about,” Pangalangan said.

The former international court justice added that witnesses in the trial of Duterte will likely attend via video link, emphasizing that witnesses in criminal procedures are “indispensable” to move the cases forward.