Do you have questions for the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims? Send them to us by noon of April 15, via the Justice and Crime chat room on the Rappler app.

MANILA, Philippines – You will often hear that victims are at the center of all proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC), yet during the pre-trial hearing of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the sparring show was mainly between the prosecution and the defense.

In an ICC case, it’s the insider witnesses (yes, even co-perpetrators who would later cooperate) who are key to convicting a suspect.

However, victims have a special character because their experiences get to be heard through their common legal representatives.

There’s another special feature for the victims at the ICC: the Trust Fund for Victims or TFV. The TFV has two mandates:

1. To provide reparations to victims upon conviction of the suspect
2. To provide assistance to the families and their communities

The second mandate has a wider coverage because it could benefit a victim not officially admitted to the case. This is crucial to the Philippine case, because the prosecution has strategically only included dozens of cases in their charges, when the killings reached tens of thousands.

What can victims of the war on drugs and the Davao Death Squad expect rom the TFV?

Editor’s Note: This was originally scheduled on March 27 but was postponed twice to urgent reasons.

Rappler reporter Lian Buan will be speaking with TFV’s executive director, Dr. Deborah Ruiz Verduzco, 10:30 pm on Wednesday, April 15, for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session.

If you have any questions about that process, or the TFV itself, please send your questions in advance, or tune in to the interview and send questions on the app.

To join the AMA:

1. Download the Rappler app for iOS or Android, and create a free account. The web version is also available here.
2. Tap the app’s Community tab and join the Justice and Crime chat room.
3. Enter the Justice and Crime chat room and send your questions or thoughts there.
4. We will read your chat room messages to Dr. Verduzco during the interview. You can watch the interview on this same page or head over to Rappler’s YouTube channel.

We look forward to your questions and insights! Stay in the Justice and Crime chat room since this is the space on Rappler where you can interact with our journalists covering the hearings, as well as with experts on the topic. Get blow-by-blow updates on the developments in this chat room. – Rappler.com