THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Branding the petition to inhibit two of the three judges from the pre-trial of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte 's case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as mere 'delaying tactic', Atty. Neri Colmenares, cocounsel for the families of the drug war victims, enthused that Duterte's defense lawyers were “wrong” in filing such an appeal since they needed to prove the “specific act actually committed” by the judges for them to show their purported biases.

Last week. the ex-president’s defense team sought the 'excusal' of judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera, claiming that the continued involvement of the two jurists from Benin and Mexico, respectively, after making a prior ruling on ICC’s jurisdiction over the case could create a “perception of bias.”

However, the appeal was denied unanimously in a four-page decision dated May 6, by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, thus dismissing denied the petition filed by Duterte’s lawyers to excuse Alapini-Gansou and Flores Liera from ruling on the ICC’s jurisdiction over the case.

According to the former House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna party-list representative, the ex-president's defense counsels “did not mention anything specific except for the fact that [the judges] previously ruled on the [jurisdiction] issue but such need not necessarily means that they are biased.”
He also echoed the court’s decision on seeking disqualification, which he said is “more stringent.”
“This is yet another delaying tactic if they (Duterte’s defense) want the two judges to inhibit and appoint new judges,” Colmenares pointed out.

“It is only right that the ICC denied it,” he quickly added.

The chamber has provisionally scheduled the hearing on the confirmation of charges to begin on Sept. 23. The court will then determine whether there is sufficient evidence that Duterte committed the crimes he’s accused of. If charges are confirmed, the case will proceed to trial.