Duterte attends the first hearing in the ICC for crimes against humanity

The 81-year-old politician has missed several sessions since his arrest in 2025, claiming medical reasons. However, in January the judges concluded that they were in a position to be judged.

The charges concern his alleged involvement in dozens of homicides in the so-called “war on drugs”, first as mayor of a city in the south of the Philippines and then as head of state, positions in which he denies any responsibility.

The hearing on Wednesday at the international court based in the Netherlands is intended to discuss the disclosure of evidence and define the timetable of the trial, scheduled for November. Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and was expected to attend in September of the same year in The Hague, but the session was postponed to assess his medical fitness.

The ICC has been investigating since 2018 the massacres in drug operations conducted by Duterte. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from over 6,000, according to the national police, to up to 30,000, according to human rights organizations.

In February 2018, after the announcement of a preliminary investigation, Duterte declared the withdrawal of the Philippines from the ICC. However, the judges rejected in 2025 the defense’s request to close the case, stressing that states cannot “abuse” the right of exit from the Rome Statute to avoid justice in relation to crimes already under investigation.

This year, the court also issued an arrest warrant against Ronald Marapon dela Rosa, former head of the national police under Duterte, who remains on the run after a confrontation in the Philippine Senate.

The Senate has opened a process of dismissal against Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former president, accused of illicit enrichment and public threats against the family of current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.