Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court seek to introduce additional recorded witness testimonies in a crimes against humanity case tied to the Philippines’ drug war, including evidence connected to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s alleged role in the Duterte administration. Duterte’s defense team opposes the request to admit the recordings without requiring the witnesses to testify in court.
Across reports, the dispute centers on evidentiary procedure: whether prior recorded testimonies can be admitted into the trial record rather than presented through in-court testimony. One outlet also frames the prosecution’s latest request as the admission of testimonies from two witnesses, while another describes the defense’s opposition to admitting two specific witnesses’ recordings and notes the prosecution’s earlier efforts involving a larger set of potential witnesses.
The coverage is largely aligned on the core point that the defense challenges the prosecution’s attempt to use recorded testimony. Differences are mainly in what background details are emphasized and which aspects of the prosecution’s prior requests are mentioned, rather than on the basic nature of the court fight.
