February 5, 2026
MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to appear in the flesh during the confirmation of charges as a pretrial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) introduced special measures in consideration of his health.
This was according to ICC-accredited counsel Kristina Conti, who noted that a single-day hearing would run for only three hours, with long breaks between hearing days. The four-day confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled from Feb. 23 to 24 and Feb. 26 to 27, with a full-day break on Feb. 25 at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
“Huge consideration was given to Duterte for his medical condition,” Conti told reporters in a chance interview at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, citing the former president’s earlier pronouncements that he cannot sit or stand for long.
READ: Duterte camp seeks reversal of ICC ruling on continued detention
But if he waives his in-person appearance at the hearing, that is his right, as granted to Duterte and to any other accused under the Rome Statute, the framework establishing the ICC. The lawyers assisting the drug war victims, however, expect his attendance in the courtroom.
“If he waives his appearance, then that’s his fault. But as far as I heard, he didn’t request to appear by video… So, I think he could be present at the next hearing,” noted Conti.
She also stressed that it would be an opportunity for the Duterte camp to present himself before the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I since his arrest in March last year and his continuing detention at the ICC facility at the Scheveningen prison complex in The Hague.
“It is the right of the accused to be present and to contest the charges against him. That is precisely the focus of [the issue on] fitness to stand trial. You are supposed to be there to understand the processes and the charges being thrown against you,” said Conti.
Conti made the remarks after the defense team formally filed before the PTC I its “request for leave to appeal decision” dated Feb. 2 on the chamber’s findings concerning Duterte’s fitness to stand trial. The PTC I, last week, issued its ruling, saying that the ex-president is “able to exercise his procedural rights and is therefore fit to take part in the pre-trial proceedings.”
But Duterte’s lawyers, led by Nicholas Kaufman, said that their client suffered “extraordinary injustice” at every stage of the proceedings, particularly on the issue of Duterte’s condition.
The defense laid down five points to stress that Duterte was allegedly “denied a fair opportunity” in litigating the matter: That the ICC Registry supposedly denied it access to the medical records; a neuropsychologist suggested by the defense was initially barred from examining Duterte; appointing a panel of medical experts “without ever stipulating the reason thereof; appointment of two neuropsychologists who were later ousted from the panel; that the defense was allegedly not given an opportunity to contradict the panel’s medical findings. /mr