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Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s initial appearance took place on Friday, 14 March 2025, at 14:00 hours (The Hague local time), before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "Court").

Article (news)

Initial appearance of Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte

David Dizon

ABS-CBN News

The process of determining if former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial could take months, not years, a lawyer for victims of extrajudicial killings said Friday.Gilbert Andres, an accredited lawyer of the International Criminal Court, said the ICC pretrial chamber 1 agreed to a limited period of postponement of Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing to verify the defense’s factual allegation of the ex-president’s fitness.“It should be a reasonable period of time. Di naman aabutin ng years, mga months lang ito,” he said in a DZMM interview.Andres noted one of the judges in the pretrial chamber 1 had a dissenting opinion, noting that the defense’s pleading means there is already a trial.“This is just the pretrial. That is why there is a confirmation of charges to learn if it will go to trial. Ang reasoning ng dissenting opinion is hindi power ng pretrial chamber para i-determine ang fitness ng isang tao to proceed to trial,” he said, adding that the pretrial chamber can only confirm or not confirm the charges or return the documents to the prosecution.He added the role of the pretrial chamber is to sift through the charges to see which ones will go to trial. “Para siyang sumasala, fini-filter niya ‘yung charges. Nagsasala po siya ng confirmed charges,” he said.Article 61 of the Rome Statute also describes the pretrial as a determination if the evidence shows there is substantial grounds to believe that the suspect committed the charged crime. “Hindi pa po proof beyond reasonable doubt,” Andres said.Postponement of the hearing does not mean a dismissal of the charges, Andres said, adding that the prosecution may continue to gather evidence.He said that based on jurisprudence, no chamber of the ICC has granted a request to dismiss all charges because the accused was unfit for trial.“Hypothetically, this is going to be one of a kind. This might be the first but the jurisprudence provides wala pang nangyayaring ganun…Legally, hindi pa siya napupunta sa trial. Pretrial pa lang,” he said.Duterte is accused of creating and funding armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers during his six-year presidency. <div>UNFIT TO STAND TRIAL </div>Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, has claimed the former Philippine leader is suffering from “cognitive impairment in multiple domains,” rendering him unfit to stand trial.“Mr Duterte’s condition will not improve and, for this reason, the Pre-Trial Chamber must adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely,” the defense tea’s request read.According to Kaufman, they have regularly updated the Chamber on the former President’s “deteriorating cognitive condition” and has shared medical and psychological evaluations with both the prosecution and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, which represents families of drug war victims.The defense believes assessments made by two defense experts and a neuropsychologist appointed by the ICC detention center’s medical officer support their claim that Duterte is too ill to participate in the proceedings.“Mr. Duterte suffers from significant cognitive deficiencies that affect his memory, his daily executive functioning, his visuoconstructive abilities, and his orientation to place and time while, simultaneously, limiting his capacity for complex reasoning.”Kaufman noted that Duterte’s competence had been questioned as early as his initial appearance on March 14, citing his “noticeable drowsiness” during the proceeding.The filing also mentioned a CT scan performed on May 16, an examination on May 28, and repeated defense requests for an MRI - which have been denied until July 21. However, all results of these procedures were redacted.The filing included a conclusion from an unnamed neuropsychologist:“Based on my evaluation, it is my professional conclusion that Mr. D. is currently unable to meaningfully participate in the legal proceedings against him. Specifically, he lacks the capacity to remember, assimilate and apply information to be able to give his lawyers effective instructions. He will not be able to fluently recall information from the period relevant to the case such as to be able to testify. To conclude, Mr. D. will not be able to meaningfully engage with the legal process and is unfit to stand trial.” With a report by Zen Hernandez and Rose Carmelle Lacuata, ABS-CBN News

A lawyer for victims of extrajudicial killings believes the process of determining if former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial could take months, not years.

A lawyer for victims of extrajudicial killings believes the process of determining if former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial could take months, not years.

Determination of Duterte’s fitness for trial could take months, not years - lawyer

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Determination of Duterte’s fitness for trial could take months, not years - lawyer

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 12, 2025 09:18 AM PHT

Read More:

international criminal court

rodrigo duterte

crimes against humanity

gilbert andres

ejk

extrajudicial killings

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