Manila: A private lawyer accredited with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday said the proceedings against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the Netherlands-based tribunal may be completed sooner than expected due to substantial evidence against the former chief executive. 'The case against Mr. Duterte may be completed in as little as a year considering the evidence at hand,' trial lawyer Joel Butuyan told reporters at the Meet the Manila Press forum.

According to Philippines News Agency, Butuyan made the comment when asked if the proceedings would take as long as the case of another client of lawyer Nicholas Kaufman who has been named as the lead defense counsel for Duterte. They are referring to Kaufman's client, incumbent Congo deputy prime minister Jean Pierre Bemba, arrested in 2008 and spent ten years in prison at the Hague before the verdicts against him were overturned on appeal in 2018.

Butuyan pointed out that Duterte is not similarly situated as the charges and evidence against him are 'much more robust.' In an earlier interview, Butuyan said the evidence gathered and relied upon by the prosecutors in applying for the warrant of arrest is replete with many videos of the many declarations of Duterte where he encouraged police officers to kill drug suspects, promised rewards and promotion, and for the public to kill drug suspects.

He added that the ICC will also determine all available evidence in ruling whether to grant interim liberty for Duterte. 'The fact that he was arrested with a warrant of arrest may help determine whether he is a flight risk.' Butuyan said the decision of Duterte to withdraw from the Rome Statute when he was president was 'clearly a case of conflict of interest.' 'That should be evidence of his plans.'