Rejects request for another hearing next week, says Rody ‘fit, mentally aware’

The Hague, Netherlands— The International Criminal Court rejected a petition from the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte to move the first hearing to next week, ruling that the 79-year-old was “fully mentally aware and fit.”

During Duterte’ first appearance before the ICC via video conference Friday evening (9:34 p.m., Manila time) to face crimes against humanity charges over his deadly war on drugs, ICC Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc also set the next hearing for the confirmation of charges on Sept. 23, 2025.

Duterte, wearing a blue suit and tie, was allowed to sit down during the entire hearing.

“As Mr. Duterte made a long journey, involving a considerable time difference, the chamber authorized Mr. Duterte to follow the hearing at a distance,” Motoc said.

Motoc informed him of the crimes he is alleged to have committed, as well as his rights as a defendant.

The ICC said in its arrest warrant there were “reasonable grounds to believe” at least 19 people had been murdered in the city by members of the “Davao Death Squad” headed by Duterte.

Additionally, based on the warrant, at least 24 people were killed by Philippines police in various locations.

Duterte’s legal counsel, Salvador Medialdea, tried to convince the court to set another hearing next week after his earlier petition was rejected.

“Only this morning have I met him for the first time with less than an hour to discuss legal issues. I have not been able to present him with a hard copy of the arrest warrant because we were not supplied with such. I have not even been able to explain to him what the prosecution requested when seeking the issuance of arrest warrant,” Medialdea said.

“Accordingly, I repeat my peaceful request which was rejected this morning to postpone the substantive aspect of this hearing to the next week when I will have the opportunity to sit with my client and to explain to him what a confirmation hearing is and what disclosure is, and how the prosecution alleges that he committed crimes.”

Medialdea also described Duterte as “an elderly man with debilitating medical issues, hard of hearing and poor of sight.”

He also questioned the manner Duterte was brought to The Hague to stand trial before the ICC.

“To us lawyers, this will be called an ‘extrajudicial rendition.’ To the less legally inclined, it was a pure and simple ‘kidnapping,'” Medialdea said.

Motoc, however, rebuffed him, saying Duterte and his legal team will have all the chance to discuss the substantive issues during the confirmation of charges hearing.

“There will be a full procedure that will unfurl, leading up to the confirmation of charges that will enable Mr. Duterte to raise all the matters with regard to the warrant of arrest, with regard to the crimes committed, with regard to the charges and other matters associated with his arrest and the matters of jurisdiction of the court,” Motoc said.

She also ordered the prosecution to start disclose information on the basis of the arrest warrant within seven days to allow Duterte and his counsel to prepare.

It is only after the confirmation of charges hearing that the court will decide whether to press ahead with a trial, a process that could take several months or even years.

Duterte, the first Asian head of state to face ICC charges, stands accused of the crime against humanity of murder over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed thousands.

In the prosecutor’s application for his arrest, they said Duterte’s alleged crimes were “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in the Philippines.”

“Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated,” the prosecutor alleged about the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

Victims’ families have welcomed the trial as a chance to get justice, while Duterte supporters believe he was “kidnapped” and sent to The Hague amid a spectacular fall-out with the ruling Marcos family.

According to international law experts, his whirlwind arrest and surrender to the ICC marks a welcome boon for the embattled court, which is being attacked from all sides and sanctioned by the United States.

“I see the arrest and handing over of Duterte as a gift at an important moment in time,” Willem van Genugten, Professor of International Law at Tilburg University in The Netherlands, told Agence France Presse.

As he landed in The Hague Wednesday, the former president appeared to accept responsibility for his actions, saying in a Facebook video: “I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible.”

In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quotes from some of Duterte’s more colorful pronouncements when he was running for president.

Duterte was cited as saying the number of criminal suspects killed “will become 100,000… I will kill all of you” and the fish in Manila Bay “will become fat because that’s where I will throw you.”

Duterte has undergone health checks during his detention in The Hague.

The Philippine embassy in The Hague said on its website the former president told a consular official he had “received medical care and that he is generally fine.”

Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan hailed Duterte’s arrest as a key moment for victims and international justice as a whole.

“Many say that international law is not as strong as we want, and I agree with that. But as I also repeatedly emphasize, international law is not as weak as some may think,” Khan said in a statement following Duterte’s arrival in ICC custody.

As this developed, Malacañang said while the government funded the flight that transported Duterte to The Hague, he will be responsible for all other expenses, including legal fees.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro explained the transportation expense was part of the government’s assistance to Interpol.

“As a Filipino—not just because he is a former president—the government must ensure that Duterte gets a fair trial, especially because he is a Filipino,” Castro said.

“(But) even for the complainants, the government really will not shoulder that (legal fees) because they have their own lawyers, and like we said, we do not have any responsibility or hand over the ICC proceedings,” the Palace official added.

Human rights groups said Duterte must not be give any special treatment in his trial at The Hague.

“He should not be entitled to special treatment considering that the detention facility is well-equipped to assist him, and that the potential risks of interfering or subverting the processes of the court is great,” the groups led by the National Union of People’s Lawyers said in a statement. With AFP