ICC Appeals Chamber upholds Rody detention

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte will remain in detention in The Hague after the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected his latest bid for temporary liberty on Friday.

The five-member appeals chamber unanimously affirmed the Jan. 26 decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, which mandated the continued detention of Duterte.

It rejected the appeal lodged by Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who argued that the
pre-trial judges erred in their decision on the review of the former president’s detention.

The ICC Appeals Chamber is composed of a different set of judges from the Pre-Trial Chamber I.

In his appeal, Kaufman called out the pre-trial chamber for disregarding a report they submitted concerning Duterte’s health condition.

He said this report constitutes a new fact and should have been assessed as a change in circumstance that would warrant Duterte’s release from detention.

The Pre-Trial Chamber I earlier ruled that Duterte is fit to participate in pre-trial proceedings, citing separate reports submitted by the independent panel of medical experts constituted to assess the former president.

In its ruling, the Appeals Chamber noted that Kaufman did not explain “why or how the defense’s report, without any examination of Mr. Duterte, may provide more updated or reliable information concerning Mr. Duterte’s health condition than that provided in the panel’s reports.”

“Consequently, and contrary to the defense’s argument, the Appeals Chamber finds no inconsistency between the Pre-Trial Chamber’s rejection of the defense’s report and the Pre-Trial Chamber’s finding that while the panel’s reports constitute a new fact as to Mr. Duterte’s health condition, the panel’s reports and the information therein do not amount to a new fact or changed circumstance that would warrant modifying the initial decision on detention,” it added.

The appeals judges also rejected other arguments raised by the defense.

The ruling was released through a written decision instead of being delivered in open court due to the confidential nature of some information included in the appeal.

Duterte has been detained at the ICC Detention Center in The Hague since March 12, 2025, a day after he was arrested in the Philippines and subsequently turned over to the ICC.

He is facing charges of crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder over killings related to the so-called Davao death squad and his administration’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs.

Jurisdiction

Former chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo said that Duterte’s Filipino legal team is eyeing to question the jurisdiction of the ICC before the United Nations (UN).

“How can (the ICC) convict (former president Duterte) if it has no jurisdiction? That’s why I am planning to bring the issue before the United Nations. It (ICC) is not even part of the United Nations. It is more on telling the world what an injustice if there is such a conviction,” Panelo said over Bilyonaryo New Channel.

“If the decision will be based on the merits, it should be dismissed. But given some external considerations, like for instance, I cannot understand why this court has assumed jurisdiction despite there being none,” Panelo said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte announced that a mass will be held at San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City from noon to 1 p.m. on March 11 to pray for the safe return of the detained former president.

“Feel free to wear anything green,” the Vice President said on Facebook.

Shared struggles

A study conducted by the University of the Philippines found that the oral narratives of families left behind by the drug war revealed a shared understanding of political struggle and resistance.

The UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs released the results of the study authored by Francis Louie Palaspas, an independent scholar, and Oscar Serquiña Jr. of the Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts in UP Diliman.

The authors said the research centered on the narratives of 10 mothers and wives whose loved ones were killed in Duterte’s drug war and who eventually joined the non-government organization Rise Up for Life and for Rights that opposes drug-related extrajudicial killings and violations. — Bella Cariaso