The forthcoming trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court (ICC) will become a long-running soap opera for our country. Every Filipino will be glued to
The forthcoming trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court (ICC) will become a long-running soap opera for our country. Every Filipino will be glued to livestreamed court hearings, and the daily trial will be closely analyzed and hotly debated in every business meeting, family gathering, drinking session, and street corner “maritesan.” This reason alone should compel our government to rejoin the ICC because we will have more than 100 million Filipinos who will become self-styled “experts” on the ICC.
Duterte’s lawyer has given advance notice of his plan to try to have the case dismissed outright and prevent the case from reaching the stage where our people will hear the testimonies of witnesses. With the kind of evidence that the ICC prosecutor has divulged, however, there is little doubt that the case will go to a full trial, and our nation will hear the evidence against Duterte. The ensuing trial is expected to be a blockbuster real-life show that will surpass the viewership of any drama series, with no commercial breaks to boot. Because of the seven-hour time difference between the Netherlands and the Philippines, many of our countrymen will endure sleepless nights.
The trial will be closely followed by both supporters and critics of the former president. Unlike in the long-running debate between pro- and anti-Duterte groups in the public sphere, where each group brought its own set of facts, Filipinos will be confronted with the same set of facts that will be presented during the ICC trial.
