Rodrigo Duterte Appears in Person at The Hague as ICC Weighs Drug War Trial Fitness

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made his first in-person appearance before the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday, attending a crucial status hearing to determine whether his medical condition allows him to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

The 81-year-old former leader entered the courtroom dressed in a dark suit paired with an open-collared white shirt, marking the very first time the public has seen him in person since his arrest at Manila airport 18 months ago. He has been held in detention facilities in The Hague since March 2025.

Until Wednesday’s proceedings, the former head of state had only participated in International Criminal Court sessions remotely via video link. Following those initial virtual appearances, he had subsequently declined to attend multiple scheduled court sessions, making his physical presence in the courtroom a significant milestone for the tribunal.

The international court convened Wednesday's status session specifically to evaluate extensive claims submitted by Duterte’s defense team regarding his deteriorating physical and cognitive health. His attorneys have formally argued before the judges that his medical state has deteriorated to the point where he is no longer fit to undergo a criminal trial.

Duterte’s defense counsel, Peter Haynes, informed the presiding judges that the former president suffers from severe cognitive decline. According to the defense, Duterte experiences significant memory impairment that severely hinders his capacity to understand the legal proceedings and prevents him from properly communicating or collaborating with his legal representatives.

ICC prosecutors, however, pushed back against these medical claims, arguing that the former president remains competent enough to answer to the allegations and proceed with the judicial process. The court has maintained an ambitious timeline for the case, with the initial trial proceedings currently scheduled to commence this November.

The former president’s medical history has been a subject of public scrutiny for several years. In 2019, while still serving as president, Duterte publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune disorder that disrupts nerve signals to muscles and causes physical weakness. When he was elected to the presidency in 2016 at the age of 71, he became the oldest individual ever to assume the highest office in the Philippines.

At the core of the international prosecution is Duterte’s signature domestic initiative: the violent, multi-year war on drugs that defined his single six-year presidential term from 2016 to 2022. During his time in office, Duterte consistently justified the aggressive crackdown by insisting that uncompromising law enforcement and strict public order were fundamental prerequisites for boosting the national economy.

International prosecutors charge that the campaign resulted in the widespread, summary execution of tens of thousands of individuals, mostly small-scale narcotics dealers and users from impoverished neighborhoods. The scope of the ICC’s formal investigation encompasses alleged state-sponsored killings carried out between November 1, 2011, when Duterte served as the long-time mayor of the southern metropolis of Davao, and March 16, 2019, the date he unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The proceedings in The Hague are unfolding against the backdrop of a fierce and escalating political war between two of the Philippines’ most powerful political dynasties. The Duterte family is currently engaged in an acrimonious, high-stakes confrontation with the administration of incumbent President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

The two political families had previously formed a powerful joint ticket that secured a landslide victory in the 2022 national elections. However, the subsequent public collapse of the Duterte-Marcos political alliance dramatically shifted the country's domestic landscape, ultimately opening the door for Philippine authorities to arrest Rodrigo Duterte at Manila’s international airport in March 2025 and transfer him into international custody.

The political feud has directly enveloped Duterte’s daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, who remains the leading contender to seek the presidency in the 2028 general elections. Under the Philippine constitution, the incumbent president is strictly limited to a single term in office and is barred from running for re-election.

Despite her frontrunner status for the nation's top office, the Vice-President is currently fighting for her own political survival in Manila. She is undergoing an impeachment trial that could result in her removal from office and impose a permanent legal ban preventing her from ever holding public office again.

The impeachment charges against Sara Duterte center on allegations of the illicit misuse of public government funds during her tenure. Furthermore, lawmakers have accused her of making direct threats against the lives of President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, a prominent congressman who is also the president's cousin.

As the ICC prepares to decide whether Rodrigo Duterte is medically competent to face the November trial, the judicial process in The Hague remains inextricably linked with the profound political turmoil and shifting power dynamics unfolding in his home country.