May 28, 2026
MANILA – The Prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday requested that interpreters be promptly secured for the trial of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte so that proceedings can be broadcast in Tagalog and made more “accessible” to Filipinos.
ICC prosecutor and senior trial lawyer Julian Nicholls made the request during the first status conference in Duterte’s trial, where parties discussed the timeline for the start of proceedings.
The prosecution proposed that the trial begin on Nov. 30, but the ICC Registry proposed a much later date of January 2027, citing challenges in securing trained interpreters for the proceedings.
READ: LIVE UPDATES: First Status Conference for Duterte at the ICC
According to Nicholls, six months is already a long time not only for courtroom presentation but also for addressing the needs of the trial.
“There is a lot of interest in this case in the Philippines, I know that’s not the main point and we don’t always do that, but it would be much, much better for the population and the victims in this case if it could be broadcast in Tagalog or the other [Filipino] languages,” said Nicholls.
Nicholls then explained that proposed workarounds to the shortage of interpreters, such as calling English-speaking witnesses first, could make the proceedings difficult for some people to follow, which he said “would be a shame.”
“Part of what we do here is make it accessible to the population again in the situation in question,” said Nicholls.
“So if there’s any way to speed that up that would be excellent,” he added.
READ: Duterte’s legal team seeks fresh medical assessment ahead of ICC trial
Meanwhile, ICC Trial Chamber III Judge Joanna Korner expressed surprise in response, saying she had been under the impression that most Filipinos speak English, including in local court proceedings.
But Nicholls explained that some of the population from which many of the victims in the case come do not actually speak English well.
“Some of the poorer communities where many of the victims are from do not have a good command,” he said.
Korner then took note of the request and told the ICC Registry to ensure that there will be ready and trained interpreters during the trial proper.
Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity before the ICC over his administration’s bloody war on drugs. The campaign reportedly killed at least 6,000 people based on government records and over 30,000 based on human rights groups’ estimates, including children as young as three years old. /dl