Former Pres. Rody Duterte’s Defense Team Wants Conference w/ ICC
Duterte’s defense team requests the International Criminal Court for an “urgent status conference” amid the alleged delays in the process.
Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was arrested by the Philippine authorities last March 11 in assistance to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). On the same day of his arrest, the former President was flown to The Hague, Netherlands via Dubai.
Duterte is currently detained under the custody of the ICC detention facility for more than 100 days now. He is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity over the war on drugs of his administration. The 80-year-old President went through massive weight loss as per his family members.
According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is “skin and bones” now and the Filipinos might have yet to see the former Chief Executive as thin as he is now. Meanwhile, according to the Vice President, she prefers the current physique of her father.
Vice Pres. Duterte believed that the former physique of her father with a huge belly looks very unhealthy for his heart. His camp filed for an interim release bid but there are still no updates about it. Former Pres. Duterte’s defense team is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman.
Recently, former Pres. Duterte’s defense team asked the International Criminal Court for an “urgent status conference” amid an alleged delay in the process. Based on a report on GMA News, the lawyer of the former President, Nicholas Kaufman, cited the following:
- a month passed from the moment that the Defence requested [REDACTED] on 15 April 2025, until they were received on 16 May 2025;
- the [REDACTED] underlying [REDACTED] on 16 May 2025 was only supplied to the Defence on 7 July 2025;
- an [REDACTED] requested more than a month ago [REDACTED] is yet to be [REDACTED]; and
- the [REDACTED] more than a month ago are yet to be received.”
The confirmation of charges was set by the International Criminal Court on September 23. Based on the report, former pres. Duterte’s defense team said the “urgent status conference” would help determine if the current timeline is feasible.
The request of Duterte’s camp was submitted to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1. Previously, the 11th and 12th batch of evidence in the case against former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte were submitted by the ICC prosecutor.