Image source, ReutersImage caption, Rodrigo Duterte has been detained at The Hague since March 2025
ByJoel Guinto- Published1 hour ago
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has appeared in person at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he is due to be tried for alleged crimes against humanity.
He is facing charges over his bloody war on drugs, which saw tens of thousands of small-time drug dealers allegedly executed summarily.
The 81-year-old wore a dark suit and white shirt with no tie on Wednesday, the first time he has been seen in person since his arrest in Manila 18 months ago.
Until now he had appeared before the court by video link and subsequently skipped multiple hearings.
The ICC called a status hearing on Wednesday after Duterte's lawyers argued the former leader's deteriorating health had made him unfit to stand trial.
The first trial date is scheduled in November.
The war on drugs was the centrepiece of Duterte's presidency, which ran from 2016 to 2022. He argued peace and order was necessary to grow the economy.
The ICC is looking at killings from 1 November 2011, when Duterte was mayor of Davao, a sprawling southern metropolis, to 16 March 2019, when he withdrew the Philippines' membership in the ICC.
Duterte's lawyer Peter Haynes has told the court his client suffers from "significant memory impairment", making him unable to engage with his legal team. Prosecutors argued otherwise.
In 2019, when he was still president, Duterte revealed he was suffering from myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune condition that causes nerve malfunction. At 71 in 2016, he was the oldest Philippine president at the time of election.
Duterte heads to trial at the ICC as his family is caught in a high-stakes dynasty war for control of the Philippines. His daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, has feuded spectacularly with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos.
The break-up of the Duterte-Marcos alliance, which helped them win the 2022 elections by a landslide, paved the way for the Rodrigo Duterte's arrest at Manila airport in March 2025.
Sara Duterte is a frontrunner to replace Marcos in the 2028 elections, where the incumbent is ineligible under the constitution to stand for a second term.
But she is also fighting for her political survival in an impeachment trial, where if convicted, she will be disqualified from running for public office.
She is charged with misusing public funds and threatening to have Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Marcos' cousin, congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez assassinated.
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