GILBERT Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) order to freeze money connected to the former head of state does not cover his bank accounts but only cash and items taken from him at the time of his arrest.
Andres, Victims’ Common Legal Representative before the ICC, said public discussions about the court’s action had resulted in a misunderstanding of the scope of the ICC Trial Chamber order.
He said that based on the public redacted version of the defense filing dated June 26, 2026, the Trial Chamber granted the prosecution’s request to freeze any money that had been seized from Duterte and directed the ICC Reg istry to prepare an inventory of items obtained from him upon his arrest.
“The Trial Chamber granted the prosecution’s request to freeze any money that had been seized and further ordered the Registry to provide an inventory of the items obtained from Mr. Duterte upon his arrest,” Andres said, stressing that the order refers only to money physically in Duterte’s possession when he was arrested.
“It refers to the money that Mr. Duterte actually had with him. This is not a freeze order on any of Mr. Duterte’s bank accounts. That is incorrect,” Andres said.
The amount and details of the money seized were not disclosed publicly.
