Rodrigo Duterte fit for trial, says ICC

DUTERTE. Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte appears before the International Criminal Court as the court hears arguments regarding Duterte's health and ability to stand trial, while he faces murder charges related to his war on drugs, in The Hague, Netherlands, on September 16 2026. Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool via Reuters (1st UPDATE) '[The chamber] is satisfied that the Accused is able to effectively exercise his fair trial rights in the proceedings and is therefore fit to stand trial,' says the International Criminal Court Trial Chamber III MANILA, Philippines – The International Criminal Court has cleared an obstacle in Rodrigo Duterte’s upcoming November trial as the ICC Trial Chamber III found that the former Philippine president is fit for trial. “For these reasons, the chamber is satisfied that the Expert Panel’s Reports are sufficiently conclusive to make a determination on the Accused’s ability to participate in the trial proceedings and to effectively exercise his procedural and fair trial rights,” the ICC Trial Chamber III said on Thursday, October 8. “[The chamber] is satisfied that the Accused is able to effectively exercise his fair trial rights in the proceedings and is therefore fit to stand trial,” it added. Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity before the ICC due to the alleged killings of the Davao Death Squad and his war on drugs, which killed nearly 30,000 people according to several human rights groups. In March 2025, the former president became the first Asian head of state to be arrested by the ICC over the same case. His trial is set to begin on November 30, following the ICC’s decision to confirm all the charges against him and the junking of his appeal on jurisdictional grounds. Just last January, the ICC pre-trial chamber that handled the confirmation of charges found that the former president was able to stand trial. According to the experts’ analysis, Duterte was unanimously found to be in the capacity to understand: the charges the purpose and consequences of the proceedings following the course of the proceedings, including the nature and implications of entering a plea the evidence instructing counsel in preparing and conducting the defense Duterte’s lawyers had said he was suffering from “significant memory impairment that prevents him from retaining recent information and reliably accessing memories,” among others. The chamber said it was mindful of the experts’ findings that Duterte was suffering from some cognitive impairment, but this impairment was either “mild,” “incipient,” or “pre-clinical.” “In light of these considerations and the Expert Panel’s determination, following its examination of the Accused, the Chamber is satisfied that there is no support for the Defence’s contention that the nature of the Accused’s performance is due to severe medical conditions. It therefore rejects the Defence’s argument,” said the chamber. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading