(UPDATE) FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte informed the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that he does not wish to attend the annual review of his continued detention, either in person, from outside the courtroom or via videoconference.
In a one-page waiver dated Feb. 23, Duterte informed the chamber he would not participate in the hearing scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27. The document, prepared and read to him by his legal team, was signed without citing a specific reason for his absence.
“My counsel has explained to me the legal consequences emanating from such a waiver, and I trust him and my ICC legal team to represent me faithfully,” Duterte said in the filing.
Duterte remains detained at the ICC’s detention facility in the Scheveningen prison complex in The Hague, located a few kilometers from the court’s headquarters. He has been in custody for nearly a year following his arrest on March 11, 2025, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Legal basis for review
The upcoming hearing forms part of the ICC’s mandatory review of detention under Rule 118(3) of its Rules of Procedure and Evidence. The rule allows Pre-Trial Chamber I to conduct an annual review of whether continued detention remains necessary. Such reviews may be initiated either at the request of the prosecutor or the detained individual.
The chamber had directed Duterte’s defense team to submit a separate waiver if he intended to forgo attendance at the annual detention review, prompting the latest filing.
Duterte’s defense is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who previously notified the court that the waiver had been prepared for and read to his client before he approved and signed it.
Jurisdiction challenge
Earlier, Duterte also waived his right to attend the four-day confirmation of charges hearing, citing his condition as “old, tired and frail.” In that filing, he reiterated his claim that he had been “kidnapped” and transported to The Hague despite the ICC allegedly lacking jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Pre-Trial Chamber I affirmed in October last year that the court retains jurisdiction over the crimes against humanity case against Duterte, which stems from allegations tied to his administration’s antidrug campaign. The defense has appealed that ruling, and the matter remains pending before the chamber.
Duterte had also sought temporary release, arguing that he does not pose a risk to victims or witnesses. The chamber denied the request, ruling that continued detention was warranted.
The outcome of Friday’s detention review will determine whether Duterte will remain in custody as confirmation of charges hearings continue. If the chamber finds the prosecution has presented enough evidence, the case will go to trial.
Justice
Meanwhile, Ramon Magsaysay awardee Fr. Flavie Villanueva said Wednesday that he is hopeful that victims of extrajudicial killings will obtain justice as the ICC continues its confirmation of charges hearings against Duterte.
In an interview with The Manila Times during the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, Villanueva said the Office of the Prosecutor has presented factual evidence of, what he calls, Duterte’s “systematic killings.” He noted that the facts presented reveal how the drug war started, how the system worked and those who were involved.
“Digong’s being in The Hague is not enough. There are still many who have blood on their hands,” he added, stressing that those who allegedly helped Duterte should also face trial before the ICC.
On Tuesday, the ICC prosecutor cited the central role that former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now senator Ronald Dela Rosa played in the bloody war on drugs.
Bribery allegation
Also on Wednesday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III shrugged off allegations he was among the people involved in the bribery of ICC investigators looking into the extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s watch.
Lawyer Levi Baligod earlier claimed that Torre was present in one meeting with former House speaker Martin Romualdez and Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co in relation to influencing the ICC investigation against Duterte.
“I also saw that affidavit, there are so many names involved. Allow me, please, to reserve my comments regarding that matter because we don’t know if they can substantiate it and if they will raise their hands to subscribe to that. Maybe later at the end of the day they will say it was only a joke,” Torre said in a Palace briefing.
“So, it’s really a nonissue right now for me. I’m not the main personality there, there are so many names there,” he added in Filipino.
Baligod further alleged that ICC probers, said to be “wined and dined” by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, did not conduct a “bona fide” investigation in the country as they only interviewed witnesses handpicked by Duterte’s critics.
The $2-million bribe money for the foreign investigators reportedly was funneled through Trillanes.
Torre, then a two-star general who was chief of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, was the lead official who enforced the arrest and turnover of Duterte to the ICC in March 2025.
Before that, he was also instrumental in the apprehension of another prominent figure and known Duterte ally, Kingdom of Jesus Christian founder Apollo Quiboloy, who was accused of qualified human trafficking, and child and sexual abuse.
Trillanes has denied allegations that he received $2 million from Co to bribe or fund ICC investigators, describing these claims as a “blatant lie” and a desperate attempt to discredit the ICC’s ongoing proceedings against Duterte.
He announced plans to file cyber libel complaints against lawyer Baligod, former congressman Mike Defensor, broadcaster Jay Sonza and 18 former soldiers who aired the bribery claims.
