ICC rejects victims' request to use Tagalog in parts of opening statement in Duterte trial

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III that will hear the crimes against humanity charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte has rejected the counsel for the victims' request that portions of their opening statement be delivered in Tagalog.

This was one of the measures that the trial chamber decided in its fifth pre-trial conference at the ICC in The Hague. Duterte was not present at the conference on Monday after the court granted the defense's request that he not attend.

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said allowing Tagalog—which is not among the ICC’s official languages—would complicate victim applications and significantly increase trial costs because of translation requirements.

The request was raised by Public Counsel for Victims Paolina Massidda, who argued that using Tagalog was necessary to accurately convey the victims' narratives.

Massida noted that the use of Tagalog would be strictly limited to quoting victims and would not be used throughout the entire opening statement.

Under the Rome Statute, the official languages of the ICC are English and French. –NB, GMA News