Former president Rodrigo Duterte has decided to skip the confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) from February 23 to 27, his counsel Nicholas Kaufman confirmed on Wednesday.
Kaufman released Duterte’s letter dated February 17, where the former president said he asked to waive his right to attend the hearing as he does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Hague-based tribunal.
“I am old, tired, and frail. I wish for this court to respect my peace inside the cell it has placed me,” the former president wrote, according to a News 5 report.
Duterte said he understood the consequences of waiving his right to appear in the Feb. 23-27 hearings as explained by his legal team headed by Kaufman.
“I trust him (Kaufman) and his team to challenge the sufficiency of the Prosecution’s evidence on my behalf. I do not wish to follow these proceedings from outside the courtroom through the use of communications technology,” he said.
The detained former president went on to reiterate his denial of allegations against him. Duterte is facing charges as an “indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019,” according to the ICC.
He was arrested by virtue of a warrant served by the ICC through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on March 11, 2025. He made his initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 three days later.
His confirmation of charges hearing was previously scheduled on September 23 last year, but his defense team appealed for its indefinite adjournment, claiming that Duterte was unfit to stand trial.
This was later denied by the chamber, which found that the former president is fit to take part in the hearings. But Duterte said he was never interested in it: “I do not wish to attend legal proceedings that I will forget in minutes… I wish for this Court to respect my peace.”
In his letter, the politician from Davao City maintained that he is not guilty of the allegations against him. “I am proud of my legacy and of my service to my countrymen around the world. Let no one doubt my love for and loyalty to the Filipino nation,” he said.
