Update on ICC Case of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte amid Detention
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The camp of the former President has formally asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately and unconditionally release him.
The ICC rejected the interim release plea of former Pres. Duterte. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte previously claimed that she will not ask the help of Marcos Jr. over the ICC interim release of her father. The decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I came with a unanimous verdict from all three (3) judges who believe that the former President’s continued detention is necessary.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is detained under the custody of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands since March. His arrest and the transver of his custody to the foreign court became controversial as he was immediately flown en route for The Hague on the same day of his arrest.
The former President is faced with an accusation of three (3) counts of murder as alleged “crimes against humanity”. Aside from rejecting his interim release plea, the foreign court also junked his camp’s challenge to its jurisidiction.
The legal counsel of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Nicholas Kaufman, claimed that the former Chief Executive is allegedly “not fit to stand trial”, thus, the confirmation of charges hearing set last September was postponed. The British-Israeli Lawyer claimed that the former President is allegedly suffering from “cognitive impairment”.
Duterte was ordered by the ICC to undergo the checking of three (3) medical experts to assess his fitness to stand trial. The set of medical experts include the following:
- an expert in forensic psychiatry
- an expert in neuropsychology
- an expert in geriatric and behavioral psychology with experience in “the examination of an elderly person on fitness to participate in judicial proceedings”
Recently, amid his continued detention under the custody of the ICC, the legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte requested the foreign court to immediately and unconditionally release him and terminate all the legal proceedings. Based on a post of ABS-CBN News on social media, his camp filed a 21-page “Appeal Brief on Jurisdiction”.
The recent filing of Duterte’s camp challenges the October 23, 2025 decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber I. Based on the post, they argued that the court allegedly made fundamental errors of law in its verdict over the challenge to its jurisdiction. The court has yet to speak on the recent filing of the Defence.
Amid the continued detention of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands, Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that the ICC has allegedly issued an arrest warrant against Senator Bato dela Rosa. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has spoken on the alleged ICC arrest warrant versus Sen. Bato dela Rosa.