MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has removed 253 items from its list of evidence against former president Rodrigo Duterte as it reorganizes its case ahead of trial.
In a public redacted filing dated Oct. 12, 2026, the prosecution said it had restructured its list of evidence to provide a clearer understanding of the categories of materials it intends to use in the case involving Duterte's alleged crimes against humanity.
The prosecution also said it could remove nearly 7,000 additional items if the defense agrees to proposed facts concerning a collection of evidence whose details were redacted in the public document.
The updated list was submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor following an order from Trial Chamber III, which is composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek and Judge Nicolas Guillou.
The prosecution organized its evidence into seven categories: materials cited in its trial brief and annexes; materials related to trial witnesses; speeches by Duterte and other alleged co-perpetrators; specific collections of datasets; materials received from undisclosed sources and nongovernmental organizations; open-source materials; and other evidence.
The prosecution identified materials cited in its trial brief and annexes as containing the key items of evidence supporting its case.
One of the evidence categories includes Philippine National Police records concerning killings during police anti-drug operations and other drug-related killings during the period covered by the charges. Details of certain datasets and sources were redacted to protect sensitive information.
The prosecution said it reviewed its evidence list following a Sept. 16 status conference, after which the list was further restructured in response to the chamber's instructions.
The filing, signed by Acting Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, was submitted confidentially because it contains sensitive information relating to prosecution witnesses and sources. The court released a public redacted version on Oct. 12.
The filing concerns the organization and volume of the prosecution's evidence and does not itself determine Duterte's guilt or the admissibility of individual items.
Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity in connection with killings linked to his administration's war on drugs.
