The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecution has formally petitioned the Pre-Trial Chamber I to lift redactions on a Defense filing involving former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, arguing that the identities of six prominent Filipino lawyers should be part of the public record.
The individuals identified by the Prosecution include former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, former LTFRB chair Martin Delgra, former Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, Alfredo Lim, and former BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay.
The legal dispute centers on whether these individuals are formally associated with the former president’s legal battle.
Earlier proceedings suggested that the statements and actions of Duterte’s lead counsel gave the impression that these six officials “are members of Mr Duterte’s Defense team.” When the Prosecution sought official clarification, the Defense confirmed that the lawyers “‘are not members of Mr Duterte’s defense team in this case.’”
Despite this confirmation, the Defense redacted their names in public versions of the filings, citing a need to protect the “dignity” of the lawyers involved. The Prosecution has dismissed this justification as legally insufficient.
“The Defense’s purported reason for the redactions – to preserve the ‘dignity’ of the six lawyers at issue in the filing – is insufficient to depart from the principle that proceedings before the International Criminal Court (the ‘Court’) should be public. It is also unclear how confirming to the public that these lawyers do not work for the Defense team would negatively impact their ‘dignity’, to the extent that it is even a consideration.”
Beyond the procedural debate, the Prosecution emphasized that public transparency is a matter of witness safety and investigative integrity.
They argued that clarifying the roles—or lack thereof—of these high-ranking officials is necessary “to assuage the fears of potential witnesses and victims and to ensure there is no chilling effect on the Prosecution’s ongoing investigations.”
The Prosecution reportedly attempted to resolve the matter privately on March 30, 2026, by emailing the Defense to request a voluntary reclassification of the documents.
Having found “no basis for the redactions applied,” the Prosecution is now seeking a direct intervention from the Chamber to ensure the proceedings remain open and transparent.