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FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte has waived his right to attend a key pre-trial hearing before the International Criminal Court on November 2, allowing his lawyers to represent him as judges finalize arrangements for his crimes-against-humanity trial set to open later this month.

In a filing dated October 30, Duterte’s defense team informed Trial Chamber III that he had signed a waiver declining to attend the fifth status conference.

The chamber approved the request on October 29 and directed the defense to place the signed waiver on the record.

The defense said Duterte had authorized his lawyers to address all procedural matters on the hearing agenda, as well as any other issues that may arise during the proceedings.

The November 2 status conference, scheduled from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Philippine time, with a possible second session from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., is one of the final hearings before the start of trial on November 30.

Judges are expected to discuss the daily hearing schedule, arrangements for testimony through audio-visual links, rights of audience before the court, the prosecution’s witness list, the number of hours allotted for the presentation of evidence, potentially exculpatory evidence, agreed facts, witness calling order, Rule 68(3) applications, in-court protective measures, and security arrangements for defense missions.

Duterte attended the previous two status conferences on September 16 and October 13. His September appearance marked his first in-person attendance before the ICC since he was surrendered to the tribunal in March 2025.

The hearing comes less than a month before Trial Chamber III formally opens the case against Duterte on November 30.

During the opening session, judges are expected to confirm that Duterte understands the charges against him and ask whether he pleads guilty or not guilty.

The chamber will then hear opening statements from prosecutors and lawyers representing victims, while the defense may also be invited to present an opening statement.

The prosecution has been allotted six hours for its opening presentation, while victims’ representatives have been granted three hours.

The court has indicated that the prosecution’s first witness is expected to testify after opening statements conclude.

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity stemming from alleged killings linked to anti-drug operations and vigilante-style killings carried out between 2011 and 2019.

Prosecutors allege the crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.

The charges cover alleged killings in Davao City during Duterte’s term as mayor, killings of so-called ‘high-value targets’ during his presidency, and killings and attempted killings during anti-drug ‘barangay clearance operations’ between 2016 and 2018.

Trial Chamber III ruled on October 8 that Duterte is fit to stand trial. Proceedings will be streamed on the ICC’s website, Facebook page and YouTube channel with a 30-minute delay.

GOVERNMENT assistance for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has officially breached the 5,000 mark as regional security concerns intensify following recent missile and drone attacks launched by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Data released by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday showed that, as of November 2, the agency – in close coordination with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) – has extended a total of 6,873 services to 5,257 affected OFWs across Saudi Arabia.

The comprehensive government intervention package includes immediate financial relief, food packs, temporary shelter, medical evaluation and support, as well as land transportation assistance for displaced or distressed workers.

‘The government has also facilitated the repatriation of 560 OFWs and 13 dependents through 14 flights, ensuring that Filipinos who wish to return home receive the necessary support,’ the DMW said in a statement.

The migrant workers’ agency stepped up its emergency response operations after Houthi forces targeting Saudi airports, air defense facilities, and key infrastructure scaled up cross-border attacks. The strikes were launched in retaliation against ongoing Saudi military interventions in Yemen, where the militant group remains entrenched.

Tensions hit close to home for the Filipino community after an OFW was killed by missile fragments when Saudi defense forces intercepted an incoming Houthi drone targeting Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield, highlighting the growing hazards faced by foreign nationals in the area. The situation remained volatile over the weekend as militant forces launched a fresh barrage of strikes across Saudi territory.

Despite the heightened security situation, the Philippine government has yet to impose a deployment ban for workers heading to the Kingdom. DMW

Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia confirmed in a Viber message last week that no deployment restrictions for Saudi Arabia have been implemented as of present.

Meanwhile, DMW Secretary Hans J. Cacdac assured the public that the government remains fully prepared to safeguard the welfare of the active diplomatic and labor contingent. He said that the DMW and Owwa are working hand-in-hand with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Embassy, and host government agencies in Saudi Arabia to continuously monitor the ground situation and deliver timely aid.

The DMW strongly urged all Filipinos residing and working in KSA to exercise extreme caution, stay updated on local security advisories, and contact the government’s 24/7 emergency hotline at 1348 (or +63 2 1348 for international calls) should they require immediate emergency or evacuation assistance.

THE newly rehabilitated Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) Busway Guadalupe Station is set to reopen on Friday, November 6, even as the government temporarily opened a portion of the dedicated bus lane to private vehicles starting Monday, to ease traffic during ongoing road repairs.

Transportation Secretary Vicvencio Dizon and Public Works Secretary Giovanni Lopez jointly inspected the Guadalupe Station in Makati City as part of compliance with a directive from President Marcos for government agencies to prioritize commuter welfare and make daily travel more convenient.

As part of the facility improvements, Dizon directed the immediate installation of essential commuter amenities.

‘Secretary Dizon ordered the installation of proper toilets, ceiling fans, and additional seats at busway stations for passengers,’ the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement.

The DOTr emphasized that these upgrades stem from an ongoing partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ensure continuous infrastructure development centered on passenger comfort.

To ease traffic congestion caused by road rehabilitation, private vehicles are being granted temporary access to the Edsa Busway stretch between Nepa Q-Mart (Mega Q Mart) in Quezon City and Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong City.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has rejected a request to allow portions of opening statements in Tagalog during the upcoming trial of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, ruling that proceedings must be conducted in the court’s official working languages, English and French.

The decision came during the fifth and final status conference before Duterte’s trial on charges of crimes against humanity opens on Nov. 30 in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Paolina Massidda, the Common Legal Representative of Victims, asked the chamber to allow portions of the victims’ opening statement to be delivered in Tagalog. She said the request was limited to reading excerpts from victims’ accounts in their native language and would take only about 15 to 20 minutes.

Massidda told judges that many victims in the Philippines are expected to follow the proceedings and would better understand how their stories are presented before the court if portions were delivered in Tagalog.

‘A lot of victims will be connecting to the hearing,’ Massidda said. ‘For them, it’s also important to listen how we convey to the chamber what they narrated to us and their experiences.’

Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc denied the request, citing the Rome Statute, which designates English and French as the ICC’s working languages.

‘The working languages of the court are English and French,’ Motoc said.

The judge said there must be ‘really exceptional’ reasons to depart from that rule.

She also noted that Tagalog is not spoken by all victims participating in the case.

‘The question of Tagalog, it seems to me, it’s not the language of all the victims in any event because I gather some of them speak different languages,’ she said.

Motoc added that allowing non-working languages could create additional administrative burdens and translation costs for the court.

‘The moment we start to do this, then applications come in and it becomes much more complicated and more expensive,’ she said. ‘We are going to follow what the Rome Statute has mandated and it must all be in English.’

The judge further indicated that similar requests have become increasingly common before the court.

‘Up till now, everybody has accepted that. But suddenly, as I say, there seems to be this fashion for asking for the use of one of the non-court languages,’ she said.

Despite rejecting the request, the chamber said it would explore whether Tagalog translations or transcripts could be made available through the court’s website. The judges also stressed that interpretation services would remain available throughout the proceedings.

Duterte expected to attend trial daily

Duterte was absent from Monday’s status conference after his legal team sought permission for him not to attend. The chamber accepted the request, noting that the hearing was expected to be brief.

The judges, however, emphasized that the former president would be expected to attend once the trial begins.

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‘We’ve agreed exceptionally because this is not likely to be a particularly lengthy status conference that Mr. Duterte need not attend this morning,’ Motoc said.

‘But once the actual trial starts, we will expect, as we said, attendance on a daily basis.’

Court approves revised hearing schedule

The chamber also finalized a revised hearing schedule for the first evidentiary phase of the trial, citing expert advice related to Duterte’s condition and the need for regular consultations between the accused and his lawyers.

Hearings will generally run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in The Hague, equivalent to 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Philippines, with several breaks throughout the day.

Motoc said the revised timetable was designed to accommodate recommendations made by experts regarding Duterte.

The schedule may be adjusted when witnesses testify from the Philippines through video link.

Prosecutors said around 29 witnesses are expected to testify via audio-visual link. Court officials noted that hearings involving remote witnesses could begin as early as 8 a.m. in The Hague, or 3 p.m. Philippine time, to account for the seven-hour time difference.

Defense may make opening remarks

The chamber also said it would allow the defense to briefly outline its position at the start of the trial, following the opening statements of prosecutors and victims’ representatives.

Defense counsel Peter Haynes told the court he was inclined to do so, citing the significance of the case and Duterte’s status as a former head of state.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said they plan to shorten their opening statement from an earlier estimate of four to six hours to about three hours or less.

Victims’ representatives also said they are working to reduce the length of their presentation.

Prosecution granted 150 hours

Judges granted prosecutors 150 hours to present their evidence and said they would have flexibility in how to allocate that time among witnesses.

The prosecution also disclosed plans to file seven additional Rule 68 applications before the end of the month.

The defense confirmed it has retained expert witnesses, including a statistician and a policing expert.

Judges endorsed a proposal to hear opposing experts in close succession to help the chamber compare competing analyses.

With less than a month before opening statements, prosecutors and defense lawyers continue discussions on agreed facts, disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence and protective measures for witnesses.

EXPLAINING monetary policy decisions is as powerful as adjusting the policy rate at a time when uncertainty is ‘so high,’ according to BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr.

In his speech at the ‘SEACEN Masterclass: Central Bank Communication,’ Remolona emphasized that ‘communicating monetary policy matters, especially today when uncertainty is so high.’

With global supply shocks, fragmentation, and other noises, people look to central banks for guidance, he explained.

‘We, central bankers, like to think that our most powerful tool is the policy rate. I believe explaining our decisions can be equally powerful,’ added the BSP governor.

While the policy rate moves money, he said the narrative behind it and where it might go ‘also shapes behavior.’

And that behavior, he said, ‘is often what we are after.’

Remolona emphasized that monetary policy ‘works best when our message is not just heard but understood.’

To illustrate the importance of forward guidance, former BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in an earlier commentary that ‘central banking is [not only] about the current policy rate, but …also about shaping expectations of where policy is going.’

Guinigundo said if households, businesses and markets begin to believe that the central is becoming more concerned about weak growth than inflation remaining ‘substantially above target,’ expectations can become ‘less firmly anchored.’

Right signal

GUINIGUNDO released this commentary a few days after the Monetary Board (MB), the highest policy-making body of the BSP, decided to raise its policy rate by another 25 basis points on August 27.

While this was the ‘right decision,’ Guinigundo said the more important question is whether it was enough and, more importantly, whether the BSP’s message was ‘strong enough to convince markets that it remains firmly committed to bringing inflation back to target.’

When the commentary was issued in late-August, the former BSP deputy governor said the MB meeting on October 22 ‘will therefore be an important test.’

‘By then, the BSP will have more information on inflation, the peso, global oil prices, domestic demand and inflation expectations,’ Guinigundo said.

If inflation remains elevated and the real policy rate remains negative, he said simply holding the nominal rate unchanged could be interpreted by markets as a ‘further easing of the real monetary stance.’

That would be the wrong signal, Guinigundo said in August.

Fast forward to October 22, the MB delivered a larger-than-expected 50-bps hike in the key policy rate, bringing the BSP’s target reverse repurchase rate (RRP) to 5.50 percent.

Resisting temptation

THE MB based its decision after noting that the coming months could see a further acceleration of inflation, with the average headline inflation forecast for 2027, hence, revised upward to 6 percent from 5.4 percent.

‘The [MB] recognized the need for a strong monetary policy response to broadening price pressures and further upside risks to inflation,’ the BSP said in its statement on October 22.

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Such a ‘decisive response,’ the central bank emphasized, will make monetary policy ‘appropriately restrictive.’

‘This will contain second-round effects and firmly anchor inflation expectations,’ BSP noted.

The central bank said it stands ready to take further monetary policy action ‘as necessary’ to ensure the timely return of inflation to the target, in keeping with its price stability mandate.

In his August commentary, Guinigundo said the BSP should ‘resist the temptation to declare the tightening cycle effectively finished simply because growth is weak.’

‘This is not an argument for indiscriminate tightening or for ignoring growth. It is an argument for recognizing the hierarchy of responsibilities,’ added Guinigundo.

The former central bank deputy governor emphasized that the BSP’s primary mandate is price stability, adding: ‘Other authorities must deal with the structural and supply side impediments to growth.Asking monetary policy to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere risks creating the worst of both worlds: weak growth and persistent inflation.’