Duterte ICC trials available in Filipino translation

National

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) will now provide a Filipino version, and possibly other local broadcast versions as well, to be shown on their official livestream during the trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

During the case’s first status conference, ICC Trial Chamber III Presiding Judge Joanna Korner directed the court's registry to make the necessary arrangements for interpretation ahead of the trial's opening on November 30.

“I think it's important that opening statements can be understood by those in the Philippines,” she said per a Philstar report.

The call for the immediate hiring of interpreters came from senior trial lawyer Julian Nicholls. He emphasized that while many Filipinos speak and understand English, a significant portion of the population in the victims' communities does not have a good command of the language.

"There's a lot of interest in this case in the Philippines and having it not broadcast – I know that's not the main point and we don't always do that – but it would be much better for the population and the victims and people interested in this case if it could be broadcast in Tagalog or the other languages,” Nicholls argued.

Initially, the ICC Registry, which handles the court's administrative functions, recommended delaying the trial until January to provide adequate time to recruit and train language personnel. However, Judge Korner pointed out that because court proceedings in the Philippines are generally conducted in English, finding and training qualified local interpreters should be relatively easy for the registry.

In the absence of any changes, the trial remains scheduled for November 30, subject to a final medical assessment determining that the former president is fit to stand trial.(Hanna Jane Cabasag, CNU COMM Intern)