‘Duterte’s ICC trial won’t take years’

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June 11, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Peter Haynes, the new defense coun sel of former president Rodrigo Duterte, does not expect his crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take more than two years.

“I don’t think it’s going to be years. I think it would be surprising if it would be less than a year,” Haynes said in an interview Tuesday in The Hague by Duterte supporter Alvin & Tourism.

“A lot of it may depend on how long the former president can spend in the courtroom on a daily basis because I think he’s going to have to be there on some stages… My guess would be it won’t take as long as two years,” he added.

The British lawyer reiterated his concern over the bulk of the evidence that the prosecution intends to present, noting that it may overwhelm the defense in its preparation for the trial.

“It’s not just the question of the interviews the people have given, it’s the large number of exhibits they might refer to or produce – videos, transcripts and the like,” said Haynes.

“I think we’re just being wary of being overwhelmed by applications that make it difficult for us to prepare for trial,” he added.

The defense, in its latest submission to the ICC Trial Chamber III, noted its concern over the “wholesale admission of large documents and items of evidence,” which it said could threaten the chamber’s desire “of avoiding a large volume of ‘unnecessary and irrelevant evidence’ in the case record.”

In his interview, the defense lawyer described Duterte as being in “very good spirits… very talkative and informative.”

Duterte’s trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30, subject to a finding of his fitness to stand trial.