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MANILA, Philippines – A tame and frail Rodrigo Duterte went on his first appearance via video link at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, March 14, where he was told that the confirmation of charges hearing, similar to a pre-trial, will be held six months from now or on September 23.
Having failed to convince the judges to reset the proceedings on Friday, the initial appearance pushed through with Duterte listening from the nearby Scheveningen prison where he is now detained.
“As Mr Duterte made a long journey involving a considerable time difference, the chamber authorized Mr Duterte to follow the hearing at a distance,” said the pre-trial chamber presiding judge Iulia Motoc of Romania, who spoke in French. An English interpreter was available.
Duterte’s longtime friend and his lawyer for the appearance, Salvador Medialdea, brought up the former president’s “debilitating medical issues” and that he was “hard of hearing” and “poor of sight.”
“I believe that the court has taken specific measures with regards to his health situation. And I note that subsequent to his arrest and when he arrived at the detention center, the court’s doctor was of the opinion that he was fully mentally aware, and fit,” Motoc said, adding that the court had considered his health when it allowed a virtual attendance that day.
Health alone cannot be basis of release
Under the Rome Statute, the 79-year-old Duterte can now apply for an interim release pending trial. He will expectedly raise his health in his application. Whatever grounds he’ll raise, judges will not approve it if they believe that releasing Duterte will:
- risk an escape,
- risk obstructing or endangering the investigation,
- risk him recommitting the crimes he is accused of.
The ICC has not yet granted an interim release to a suspect charged with crimes against humanity. It has granted interim release to suspects charged with obstruction of justice.
“Kapag tiningnan mo ‘yung nakakulong dun, halos pare-pareho silang ages dun, kung health reasons dadalhin siya sa ospital, gagamutin sakit niya and then kapag medyo gumaling na siya babalik na siya. Age is never a factor,” said Joel Butuyan, an ICC-accredited counsel representing some of the victims in Duterte’s war on drugs.
(If you look at the other prisoners, they’re all of the same age. If it’s over health reasons, he will be taken to the hospital, he will be treated and when he gets better, he will be returned, age is never a factor.)
Raul Pangalangan, a retired Filipino ICC judge, said that Duterte may not even need an external hospital.
“I don’t think that the usual Philippine practice of sending VIP patients to a hospital will fit the situation at The Hague because the jails there have excellent facilities, and I think any needs of the patient short of any grave medical emergencies, can be addressed by existing facilities,” Pangalangan said during a forum on Friday organized by the University of the Philippines College of Law.
Judges will periodically review the situation and if circumstances change, their decision may also change.
The hearing was fast, not lasting half an hour. Duterte was seen from the video flashed in court dozing off at times.
The initial appearance was a very basic one – the judges simply needed to know that the man in front of them, or via screen, was indeed the Rodrigo Duterte accused of committing crimes against humanity in the Philippines.
Medialdea calls ICC ‘desperate’
Duterte slouched on his chair from the prison wearing a blue suit. It’s a different image of the former president who likes to wear the traditional barong and talk unrestrained. In the hearing, Duterte only had to say his full name, birthday and birthplace.
It was Medialdea who delivered a manifestation, once again claiming non-jurisdiction by the ICC, and illegal arrest.
Medialdea also hit President Ferdinand Marcos Jr whom he said teamed up with a “troubled legal institution” which was the ICC. “Two troubled entities struck an unlikely alliance, an incumbent President who wishes to neutralize and choke the legacy of my client and his daughter on the other hand, and a troubled legal institution…desperate for a prized catch and a legal show today on the other hand,” said Medialdea.
Lawyering for Duterte. Former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea assists Duterte at the initial appearance. Screenshot from the ICC LivestreamThe confirmation of charges hearing in September would be the more substantive one. Here, Prosecutor Karim Khan will formally present his evidence for charging Duterte, and the former president can object and challenge. It is uncertain if Medialdea will apply to be an ICC-accredited counsel, or if Duterte will choose from the current pool of sanctioned lawyers which include his former spokesperson Harry Roque.
Duterte is entitled to a lawyer from the court’s own Office of the Public Counsel for the Defence. He is also entitled to an interpreter for any preferred language, but the judges said during the hearing that Duterte had consented to the use of English.
Gilbert Andres, an ICC-accredited counsel, said that the prosecution’s charges give him hope that the entire trial will be faster than others. The ICC judges had already denied charges of rape and torture.
“Baka mas mabilis ito kasi dun lang siya pumuntirya lang eh sa (This might move faster because they limited the charges to) crimes against humanity for murder,” Andres said who attended the appearance on Friday at the ICC.
Families of drug war victims gather at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) in Quezon City on Friday, March 14, 2025, to watch the live streaming of the initial appearance of former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Jire Carreon/Rappler– Rappler.com
