Still in detention

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has remained in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, a year after his arrest on 11 March 2025 for alleged crimes against humanity of murder linked to his bloody “war on drugs” during his multiple terms as mayor of Davao City and as President from 30 June 2016 to 30 June 2022.

On 6 March, a week after the first review of his detention on 27 February, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC issued a judgment rejecting the appeal of Duterte against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I issued on 26 January that his continued detention is necessary.

The charges

The charges against Duterte cover extrajudicial killings allegedly committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019. The two dates span the period from when the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, entered into force in the Philippines, until the country’s withdrawal from the agreement became effective.

From February 23-24 and February 26-27, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I held the confirmation of charges hearings to determine if the prosecution has sufficient evidence to bring the case to a full trial. The court approved Duterte’s plea to not attend the hearings in person. He was represented by chief defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman.

During the hearings the ICC Office of the Prosecutor sought confirmation of three counts of the crime against humanity of murder against Duterte as indirect co-perpetrator based on the following incidents mentioned in its “Document Containing the Charges” filed on 4 July 2025:

• Nine incidents relating to 19 murders in Davao City between 2013 and 2016, when he was mayor;
• Five incidents relating to 14 murders of “individuals labelled as ‘high-value’,” including for their alleged involvement in drug manufacturing or drug syndicates,” in locations across the Philippines between 2016 and 2017, when he was president; and
• Thirty-five incidents relating to 45 murders and attempted murders committed in clearance operations in barangays across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018 when he was president.

The Office of the Prosecutor has clarified that the 49 incidents outlined in the document containing the charges are “a non-exhaustive list of examples of the conduct underlying the charge,” and that the 78 victims referenced in it “are a non-exhaustive list of victims in this case.”

It further noted that should the charges against Duterte be confirmed, the prosecution may seek to present at trial evidence of additional incidents and victims within the framework of the confirmed charges.

Next steps

The pretrial chamber has 60 days from the conclusion of the confirmation of charges hearings to issue a written decision. As provided for under Article 61 of the Rome Statute:

The Pre-Trial Chamber shall, on the basis of the hearings, determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged. Based on its determination, the Pre-Trial Chamber will either confirm those charges if there is “sufficient evidence,” and the case will proceed to trial, or decline to confirm those charges if it determines that there is “insufficient evidence.

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In the event that the pretrial chamber determines that there is insufficient evidence to confirm some or all of the charges, the prosecution can submit additional evidence and request a new confirmation of charges hearing.

If the charges are confirmed, the prosecutor may, before the start of the trial, and with the permission of the pretrial chamber and after notice to the accused (Duterte), amend a charge if it appears that the evidence presented establishes a different crime. If the Prosecutor seeks to add additional charges or to substitute more serious charges, a hearing under Article 61 to confirm those charges must be held.

“After commencement of the trial, the Prosecutor may, with the permission of the Trial Chamber, withdraw the charges,” according to the same article.

After the charges are confirmed the ICC Presidency will constitute a trial chamber, which shall be responsible for the conduct of subsequent proceedings and may exercise any function of the pretrial chamber that is relevant and capable of application in those proceedings.

(H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)