International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Iulia Motoc is handling the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity, but she also seems to need to deal with the spread of false information and cyber attacks by Duterte's supporters online.
It is understood that Motoc is the presiding judge of the ICC's pre-trial chamber, responsible for handling the Duterte case. On March 14, after the controversial former president's first appearance at an ICC hearing, many supporters quickly launched attacks on Motoc's social media accounts.
On her LinkedIn account, some users even called for her to release Duterte and let him return to the Philippines.
A user commented under a post by Motoc from three years ago: "Bring our former president back! He was abducted without due process, we have sovereignty, and he should be tried in a Philippine court! You cannot handle this case without the necessary conditions!"
Another user wrote: "Please listen to our voices! Please release our beloved President Duterte! This is a huge mistake. Is protecting women, children, and the future of the nation a crime? You have no idea how corrupt and shameless our leaders were before Duterte."
Due to various abuses and attacks, Motoc has now restricted comments on Facebook.
Rumored to be best friends with the First Lady Liza?
Furthermore, false information about Motoc is also spreading online. A netizen posted a photo of the Philippine First Lady Liza Marcos with others, and revealed that the person in the photo with Liza, is Judge Motoc and another ICC judge Socorro Flores Liera.
The blogger who shared this photo also claimed in the post that the arrest of the former president was premeditated, as the First Lady had already established a close relationship with the presiding judge before the arrest, and the two were "best friends."
However, according to subsequent debunking, the women in the photo are not Motoc and others.
Moreover, some people question Motoc's ability to preside over the Duterte case because she spoke to Duterte in French during the preliminary hearing, with translation provided by an English interpreter. A user sarcastically said: "Imagine being judged in an international court by someone who does not speak the world's common language."
However, contrary to these allegations, Motoc's resume shows that she is proficient in five languages, including her native Romanian, as well as English, French, Spanish, and Italian. Lawyers remind: Cyberbullying the female judge will only backfire
ICC-certified lawyer Joel Butuyan stated on March 18 that the cyber attacks by Duterte's supporters could negatively affect the judge's judgment.
He pointed out: "This could affect the judge's view of the case, especially on the issue of temporary release. Because the judges might see that Duterte's supporters are powerful, they can engage in cyberbullying, harassment, and even attempt to manipulate the court's decisions. This could have an adverse effect on subsequent trials."
