Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Dennis Gasgonia

ABS-CBN News

<p>The newly appointed counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte has sought another fitness review for his client before the International Criminal Court.</p><p>In the redacted version of the filing, British barrister Peter Haynes requested the court determine his client&#x27;s fitness to stand trial as he claimed that Duterte&#x27;s condition continues to deteriorate.</p><p>&quot;The Defence position is that a commencement is contingent upon a determination by the Trial Chamber of Mr Duterte’s fitness to stand trial... the Defence will request that this issue is revisited by the Trial Chamber pursuant to Rule 135,&quot; said Haynes. </p><p>&quot;Whilst a determination of Mr Duterte’s competence was undertaken during the pre-trial phase on the basis of written reports, his condition continues to deteriorate and will need more fully to be reviewed before any trial may commence.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/12/profile-who-is-peter-haynes-duterte-s-new-icc-lawyer-1854"><strong>PROFILE: Who is Peter Haynes, Duterte&#x27;s new ICC lawyer? </strong></a></div><p>&quot;Should Mr Duterte be found fit to stand trial, the Defence will require sufficient time to prepare its case.&quot;</p><p>Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte tapped Haynes as his new lead counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).</p><p>The ICC earlier denied Duterte&#x27;s motion to appeal a previous ruling declared him mentally and physically fit to face pre-trial proceedings.</p><p>In a decision dated Feb. 13, the Pre-Trial Chamber I dismissed the grounds raised by Duterte’s counsel, who argued that the court ignored clinical evidence regarding the former leader&#x27;s &quot;cognitive depreciation&quot; and &quot;memory impairment&quot;.</p><p>The defense, led by Nicholas Kaufman, earlier argued that the Chamber’s reliance on an independent panel of three medical experts, rather than the medical reports it submitted, showed that it disregarded their experts’ opinions without explanation.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/13/icc-rejects-duterte-s-bid-to-appeal-fitness-ruling-1915"><strong>ICC rejects Duterte’s bid to appeal fitness ruling</strong></a></div><p>Duterte facing charges for crime against humanity over his bloody war on drugs.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PROSECUTION WANTS TRIAL TO START NOVEMBER 30</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, the prosecution is pushing for the commencement of Duterte&#x27;s trial on November 30, 2026.</p><p>&quot;The Prosecution expects to complete all of the necessary pre trial steps by 30 September 2026. Consequently, the Prosecution proposes that the trial be set to commence on Monday, 30 November 2026 which would then provide for a period of two months prior to the commencement of the trial,&quot; said the prosecution in a separate filing.</p><p>&quot;The proposed date for the start of trial will allow the Prosecution to efficiently discharge its disclosure and other pre-trial steps... and will consequently likely prevent problems arising during the trial which could cause delay.&quot;</p><p>Duterte will face trial before the ICC  after judges confirmed crimes against humanity charges tied to his war on drugs.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/23/icc-confirms-all-charges-vs-duterte-commits-him-to-trial-1649">Duterte to face ICC trial after judges confirm charges</a></div><p>The Hague-based tribunal said its ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I “unanimously confirmed all the charges” against Duterte and “committed him to trial”, based on arguments and evidence presented during 4-day hearings in February.</p><p>It added that pre-trial judges concluded that &quot;there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder&quot; between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, covering Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor and later as president.“These crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population,” it added.</p><p>The 81-year-old will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world&#x27;s worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.</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/3oEA5QmOenI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The newly appointed counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte has sought another fitness review for his client before the International Criminal Court.</p>

The newly appointed counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte has sought another fitness review for his client before the International Criminal Court.

Duterte's new ICC lawyer seeks another fitness review

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Duterte's new ICC lawyer seeks another fitness review

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 16, 2026 06:43 PM PHT

|

Updated May 16, 2026 07:02 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

ICC

Crimes Against Humanity

The Hague

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