Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ruled that former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is match to attend pre-trial proceedings for alleged crimes against humanity.
The ICC also will maintain a listening to on 23 February to determine whether the prosecution’s case against Duterte is sturdy enough to proceed to a trial.
Duterte’s legal professionals earlier argued that the 80-year-old was unfit to take part in the ICC proceedings citing “cognitive impairment”. He has been detained at the Hague since March 2025.
He is accused of being accountable for dozens of murders under his so-called warfare on medication, during which hundreds of small-time drug sellers, customers and others were killed without trial.
Duterte was president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He justified his warfare on medication by saying peace and order would pave the means for financial development.
Citing opinions from a panel of medical consultants, ICC judges said they were “satisfied” that Duterte is “able effectively to exercise his procedural rights and is therefore fit to take part in the pre-trial proceedings”.
ICC judges also said in their choice on Monday that the mental capacities needed to “meaningfully exercise one’s procedural and fair trial rights” did not have to be “at their notionally highest level”.
“This ruling tells victims that in the reckoning of Duterte at the ICC, their voices will not be sidelined by technical evasions,” said Congresswoman Leila de Lima, one of Duterte’s fiercest critics who was jailed during his presidency on drug costs that were later discovered to be false.
Duterte was arrested at Manila airport in March 2025 as his household’s alliance with his successor, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr crumbled.
His arrest has divided Filipinos. While his lethal medication crackdown has drawn sharp criticism from civil society, his populist message resonates with those who really feel sidelined by Manila’s political elite.
In May last 12 months, Duterte was elected mayor of Davao metropolis despite being in prison.
His daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, is also extensively expected to run for president in the 2028 elections, where Marcos is ineligible to search a second time period.
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