Duterte camp to appeal ICC ruling on charges

MANILA, Philippines — The defense team of former president Rodrigo Duterte will appeal the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I that confirmed the crimes against humanity charges against him.

Nicholas Kaufman, lead defense counsel, confirmed that he would file a request for leave to appeal the decision released on Thursday.

If granted, the leave to appeal will allow the defense to question the ruling before the ICC Appeals Chamber.

Under ICC’s rules, the defense and the prosecution are not automatically entitled to appeal the decision on the confirmation of charges, but they can request authorization from the Pre-Trial Chamber to do so.

In media interviews Friday in The Hague, Kaufman questioned the lack of evidence cited by the pre-trial judges in their decision. He noted the purpose of the confirmation hearing was to determine the exact nature of charges against a suspect.

Kaufman earlier said the decision was “hardly surprising,” noting that the charges were “based on the uncorroborated statements of vicious self-confessed murderers acting as cooperating witnesses.”

“The credibility of these witnesses was never assessed at confirmation,” Kaufman told reporters.

Significant

For the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), the decision “reflects the strength and depth” of the its investigation and evidentiary record against the former president.

“The confirmation of these charges represents a significant milestone in the office’s efforts to advance accountability for victims of alleged extrajudicial killings and other abuses,” it said in a statement.

“It validates the prosecution’s work in establishing substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte bears responsibility for the crimes charged,” it added.

The OTP has reiterated its commitment to pursue justice for victims, saying it “will continue to take all necessary steps, in accordance with its mandate, to ensure that accountability is achieved without delay.”

Presence at trial

Barring any extraordinary circumstance, Duterte is expected to be present inside the ICC courtroom once his trial begins.

Despite issuing previous challenges against personalities of the court, Duterte, 81, has never set foot inside the ICC headquarters in The Hague ever since his arrest and subsequent turnover to the international tribunal in March 2025.

Although he appeared before the pre-trial judges during his initial appearance hearing, it was through a video conference link from his detention facility at the Scheveningen prison in the outskirts of The Hague.

He waived his appearance in other scheduled hearings, including the confirmation proceedings in February and the recent reading of judgment on his appeal on the issue of jurisdiction.

Under Article 63 of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, the accused’s presence is required during trial.

This is in contrast with the rules covering pre-trial proceedings, where the suspect is allowed to waive his right to be present during hearings.

On Thursday, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I confirmed all charges against the former president, paving way for a full-blown trial. The schedule for the trial has yet to be released.

According to the ICC, a Trial Chamber composed of a different set of judges will soon be constituted for the conduct of the trial proper.

“Promptly after it is constituted, the Trial Chamber will hold status conferences, confer with the parties and participants in order to set the date of the commencement of the trial and adopt the procedures necessary to facilitate the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceedings,” read a briefer released by the ICC.

“The Chamber will rule on several preliminary issues, including the timing and the manner of disclosure of evidence,” it said, while also deciding on other modalities regarding the participation of the accused. 

‘Start trial’

Even as they hailed recent developments as significant steps toward justice and accountability, human rights advocates and families of drug war victims are hoping for the immediate start of the trial of former president Duterte at the ICC.

“We have long waited for this moment. It’s been nearly 10 years since Duterte started implementing his deadly war on drugs. We look forward to seeing him in ICC court,” said Llore Pasco, whose sons were killed during a police operation in 2017.

For lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, who were appointed as common legal representatives of the victims, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision to confirm all charges against the former president was the “first big step toward attaining justice.”

“(It) sends a strong message to the international community of states that the international criminal justice system is working to exact criminal accountability even against a former president such as the accused Mr. Duterte,” they said.

“For the families of victims, many of whom continue to live in fear and struggle against fading hope, these decisions affirm that avenues for justice remain open,” said Ray Paolo Santiago and Aurora Corazon Parong of the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

Local and international human rights organizations also hailed the decision, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) saying it “opens the door to long awaited justice for the families of ‘drug war’ victims.”

For Ritz Lee Santos III, director of Amnesty International Philippines, the decision sends a clear message to those who have committed crimes. “Justice may be slow in coming, but it cannot be delayed forever,” he said.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the confirmation of the crimes against humanity charges against the former president is a vindication of efforts to uphold and pursue justice and accountability.

Forgone conclusion

The ruling of the ICC was a forgone conclusion after the Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously ruled in favor of committing former president Duterte to trial, according to former chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo.

“As I have said on the last day of the hearing on the confirmation charges at The Hague, if the decision is based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, no court would not dismiss it for utter lack of evidence. All prosecution presented before the pre-trial chamber were speculations, hearsay, double hearsay, hyperbolic speeches of PRRD (former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte) and news items,” Panelo said in a statement.

At the Senate, Sen. Imee Marcos called the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s confirmation of the crimes against humanity case of Duterte “unfair.”

“The recent action of the ICC once again raises serious concerns about selectivity and fairness in the exercise of international justice,” she said.

For his part, Sen. Bong Go posted a photo of Duterte on his Facebook page to condemn the confirmation of charges. “In the middle of this unfortunate news, justice will prevail. For the challenges that he will face, let us continue to pray for the safety and health of Tatay Digong,” he said.

Meanwhile, the former president’s daughter Kitty Duterte expressed apprehension after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber unanimously ruled in favor of committing him to trial.

“I worry a lot because our papa is 81 years old. He claims to be 87. Sometimes he mixes it up. I can’t think straight because there are a lot of possibilities. There’s a lot that can happen in such a short period of time,” Kitty said in an interview in The Hague, posted on Alvin and Tourism Facebook page. — Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas, Helen Flores, Marc Jayson Cayabyab