Jamaine Punzalan

A person stands by a life-size cartboard cutout of former Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte during a demonstration in his support outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on February 23, 2026. Simon Wohlfahrt, AFP/File

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/1776830946651AFP__20260223__98LF76K__v1__MidRes__NetherlandsPhilippinesIccPoliticsJusticeDemo.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A person stands by a life-size cardboard cutout of former Philippines&#x27; president Rodrigo Duterte during a demonstration in his support outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on February 23, 2026. Simon Wohlfahrt, AFP/File </span></span></span></div><p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court is once again set to become the backdrop of fresh demonstrations as its Appeals Chamber is scheduled to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/20/final-hurdle-icc-set-to-rule-on-duterte-jurisdiction-challenge-1701">rule with finality </a>on the tribunal’s authority to tackle the crimes against humanity charges filed against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.</p><p>On April 22, supporters of the Philippines’ 16th President as well as those advocating for justice in Duterte&#x27;s drug war were expected to gather outside the ICC hours before the Appeals Chamber announces its decision.</p><p>Drug war victims and their supporters “fervently hope… that the ICC will decide the jurisdiction appeal in a manner that upholds their victims&#x27; rights, under international law, to truth and justice,” Victims’ Common Legal Representatives Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres said in a statement.</p><p>“The peculiar fact is that Mr. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine official responsible for the Philippine withdrawal from the Rome Statute, is currently the detained suspect for crimes against humanity of murder,” their statement read.</p><p>“The victims await the Appeals Chamber decision, praying that the ICC will fulfill what the Philippine domestic system utterly failed to perform: to investigate and prosecute those criminally responsible for the thousands of murders under Mr. Duterte’s ‘war on drugs,’” they said.  </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/22/-invictus-rodrigo-duterte-summarizes-condition-before-icc-hearing-0639">&#x27;Invictus&#x27;: Rodrigo Duterte summarizes condition before ICC hearing </a></div><p>The ICC should not only uphold its jurisdiction over Duterte, but should also “go ahead with the trial… for the extrajudicial killings that occurred under his term,” the Panagutin Netherlands — a coalition of organizations, families of drug war victims and human rights defenders — said in a separate statement.</p><p>“We believe the ICC not only has jurisdiction, but also has the resources and impartiality to examine the merits of the charges brought forward by the families of the victims,” said Panagutin Netherlands spokesperson Joel Vega.</p><p>“We stress that the Dutertes remain in power with extensive networks… Their continued influence gives them the capacity to obstruct justice, intimidate witnesses, and manipulate public discourse to evade accountability,” he added.</p><p>“This reality makes the role of international mechanisms such as the ICC even more urgent.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/7/majority-backs-duterte-icc-trial-but-split-on-court-s-trustworthiness-poll-1523">Majority backs Duterte ICC trial but split on court&#x27;s trustworthiness—WR Numero poll </a></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XIeQM1TfUJA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The 81-year-old Duterte — who is still locked up in the ICC Detention Centre in Scheveningen — will not attend the proceedings as his camp continues to assert that cases against him should be tried in the Philippines, where there is a fully functioning judicial system.</p><p>“So long as he can waive attendance and there is no order to the contrary, former President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend hearings in an ICC case which was facilitated last year by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in an abrupt volte face generated by pure political expediency,” Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead defense counsel, said in an earlier statement.</p><p>“Whatever the outcome of former President Duterte’s current appeal may be, the people should not forget that it was the very same President Marcos, represented by former Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra who signed and filed an appeal in March 2023 arguing that the ICC totally lacked jurisdiction over the so-called war on drugs,” he said.</p><p>Under Duterte, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in March 2018, a month after the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor started preliminary examinations into alleged human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings in the country.</p><p>The withdrawal formally took effect on March 17, 2019, a year after the Philippines sent its notice to stop being a party to the treaty that created the ICC.</p><p>Duterte’s camp has been arguing that it was only in September 2021 when the ICC officially ordered an investigation into the situation in the Philippines.</p><p>In June 2022, the Philippines requested a temporary suspension of investigations, but the international chamber allowed the proceedings to continue in decisions released in 2023.</p><p>In January 2025, Duterte was arrested in Manila after a weekend trip in Hong Kong.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/21/-for-april-21-11-am-look-icc-appeals-chamber-judges-evaluating-duterte-s-jurisdiction-challenge-1100">LOOK: ICC Appeals Chamber judges evaluating Duterte’s jurisdiction challenge </a></div><p>In February 2026, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I held a confirmation of charges hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, where the Filipino leader may no longer waive his right to attend proceedings.</p><p>Should the Appeals Chamber uphold the ICC’s jurisdiction over Duterte, the Pre-Trial Chamber I is expected to release its decision on his confirmation of charges in the next few days.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5_g2F8uUX2E?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gMUHV-3gvao?&amp;t=9s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The International Criminal Court is once again set to become the backdrop of fresh demonstrations as its Appeals Chamber is scheduled to rule with finality on the tribunal’s authority to tackle the crimes against humanity charges filed against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.</p>

The International Criminal Court is once again set to become the backdrop of fresh demonstrations as its Appeals Chamber is scheduled to rule with finality on the tribunal’s authority to tackle the crimes against humanity charges filed against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

ICC’s looming jurisdiction decision on Duterte case expected to draw demonstrations

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ICC’s looming jurisdiction decision on Duterte case expected to draw demonstrations

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 22, 2026 12:16 PM PHT

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Rodrigo Duterte

International Criminal Court

ICC

Appeals Chamber

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