Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Protestors, rallying in support of the detention of former Philippine's president Rodrigo Duterte, hold a placard which reads as hold Duterte accountable now outside of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where he will be questioned by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, in The Hague on February 23, 2026. As the 80-year-old will not be present at the hearing in The Hague after the court granted a defence request to waive his right to appear, despite judges ruling that he was fit to take part, the "confirmation of charges" hearing, taking place over four days, will determine whether there is enough evidence against Duterte to proceed to a trial. Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771836195598Screenshot 2026-02-23 164116_cropped_processed_by_imagy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Protestors, rallying in support of the detention of former Philippine&#x27;s president Rodrigo Duterte, hold a placard which reads as hold Duterte accountable now outside of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where he will be questioned by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, in The Hague on February 23, 2026. The &quot;confirmation of charges&quot; hearing, taking place over four days, will determine whether there is enough evidence against Duterte to proceed to a trial. Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>THE HAGUE, The Netherlands<strong> (UPDATE) </strong>— Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing in the International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to begin this Monday, nearly a year since he first faced the tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber I in March 2025, following his <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/11/dozens-of-cops-at-naia-ahead-of-rodrigo-duterte-s-expected-arrival-0951">arrest in Manila</a> over 3 counts of crimes against humanity.</p><p>The confirmation of charges is part of the ICC’s pre-trial stage where the chamber decides whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial.</p><p>“It is not a mini trial,” said Ross Tugade, one of the Filipinos accredited as Assistant to Counsel in the ICC.</p><p>“Hindi ito proseso kung saan mayroon nang paghahatol na guilty or not guilty,” the lawyer said.</p><p>“Ito ay mahalagang step in the process to determine kung pwede magpatuloy sa trial stage kung saan doon na talaga magkakaroon ng full blown assessment of the evidence and determination kung guilty or not guilty si former President Duterte,” she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/18/duterte-waives-appearance-in-icc-confirmation-hearing-insists-lack-of-jurisdiction-2147">Duterte waives appearance in ICC confirmation hearing, insists lack of jurisdiction</a></div><p>Under the Rome Statute’s Article 61, the Pre-Trial Chamber may either confirm the charges and commit the person to trial, decline to confirm the charges or adjourn the hearing so that the Office of the Prosecutor may conduct further investigation to gather more evidence.</p><p>While it is rare for the ICC to drop charges during the pre-trial stage, it is not impossible, Tugade said, noting that among the precedents is a case from Darfur, Sudan where the three counts of war crimes against Bahar Idriss Abu Garda were not confirmed.</p><p>But unlike Duterte, the ICC issued summons to appear for Abu Garda instead of an arrest warrant.</p><p>“Sa issuance pa lang ng warrant of arrest, mayroon nang paniniwala yung korte or reasonable grounds to believe that mayroon na tayong enough [evidence] to issue the warrant itself so hindi entirely baseless ang pag issue ng warrant,” Tugade said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/14/icc-prosecutors-submit-second-updated-evidence-list-ahead-of-duterte-case-hearing-2312">ICC prosecutors submit second updated evidence list ahead of Duterte case hearing</a></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="725" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gMUHV-3gvao" title="How Rodrigo Duterte Ended Up in The Hague (Full Documentary) | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>LONGER TIME FOR DEFENSE</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177183626080017714803047331771480299945.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A man holds a portrait of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where he will be appearing, in The Hague on March 14, 2025. Nicolas Tucat, AFP/File</span></span></span></div><p>The Pre-Trial Chamber I earlier released a document noting that it will give more time for Duterte’s camp to present their side, underscoring that the Office of the Prosecutor was already able to say most of its part in writing, when it submitted the document containing the charges to the panel.</p><p>“Maigting din yung proteksyon na binibigay ng ICC sa mga akusado so very big on the due process rights of the accused,” Tugade said.</p><p>“So mas mabusisi ang pag-aaral ng ICC para mabalanse yung interes ng akusado pati yung interes ng mga biktima at yung pangmalawakang interes ng mga biktima,” she said.</p><p>While the ICC usually requires the presence of the accused during confirmation of charges hearings, the Rome Statute also gives those charged with crimes an option to waive their right to appear before the panel.</p><p>In Duterte’s case, the public is not expected to see the 80-year old during the proceedings as the former president <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/18/duterte-waives-appearance-in-icc-confirmation-hearing-insists-lack-of-jurisdiction-2147">waived his right to appear</a> before the Pre-Trial Chamber I last week.</p><p>Duterte insisted that the panel had no jurisdiction over him since he was “forcibly pushed into a jet and renditioned to the Hague in the Netherlands in flagrant contravention of my country’s Constitution and of national sovereignty.”</p><p>“I do not wish to attend legal proceedings that I will forget within minutes… I wish for this Court to respect my peace inside the cell it has placed me,” the former chief executive said in a letter, where he also described himself as “old, tired and frail.”</p><p>Duterte will instead be represented by his lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman with a team of foreign and Filipino lawyers helping him in the historic case.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘WE REJECT ANY NOTION THAT DUTERTE IS SENILE’</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The camp of drug war victims remains unconvinced that Duterte is incapable of appearing before the Pre-Trial Chamber I, citing the findings of the ICC’s independent experts that the former president is fit to attend the proceedings.</p><p>“We reject any notion that Duterte is senile… Duterte in terms of mind and mental capacity is able to understand the proceedings,” said ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti, who is also helping in some drug war victim cases.</p><p>“Inaasahan namin na ayos ang utak niya,” she said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/17/drug-war-victims-kin-supporters-mount-anti-troll-networks-ahead-of-duterte-s-icc-appearance-1607">Drug war victims&#x27; kin, supporters mount anti-troll networks ahead of Duterte&#x27;s ICC appearance</a></div><p>Meanwhile, the Defense panel has requested for the disqualification of victims’ counsels Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, and their case manager Nicole Arcaina for their alleged conflict of interest in the case.</p><p>The chamber has yet to rule on the petition.<br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/13/icc-approves-500-more-applicants-to-participate-as-victims-in-duterte-case-1849">ICC approves 500 more applicants to participate as victims in Duterte case</a></p><p>Under the Rome Statute, the Pre-Trial Chamber is not expected to render their decision on February 27, the last scheduled confirmation of charges hearing date, as they are given 60 days to decide on whether or not the Prosecutor has presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="725" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLfFbUiHTO0" title="Victims’ families face intimidation ahead of Duterte’s ICC confirmation of charges | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="725" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dFPzmBytdQg" title="If VP Sara becomes president in 2028, can she pardon her own father? 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<p>Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing in the International Criminal Court is set to begin this Monday, nearly a year since he was first hauled before the tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber I following his arrest in Manila over 3 counts of crimes against humanity.</p>

Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing in the International Criminal Court is set to begin this Monday, nearly a year since he was first hauled before the tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber I following his arrest in Manila over 3 counts of crimes against humanity.

ICC to open Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing

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ICC to open Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 23, 2026 07:00 AM PHT

|

Updated February 23, 2026 04:44 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

International Criminal Court

ICC

Duterte confirmation of charges

Duterte in ICC

crimes against humanity

war on drugs

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