Update Feb. 20, 2026:
ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 allows Duterte to skip confirmation hearings next week.
“The Chamber, while acknowledging the objections of the Prosecution and the CLRV, considers that, in the present circumstances of the case, it is appropriate to proceed with the hearing on the confirmation of charges in the absence of Mr Duterte.”
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Citing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s contradictory claims, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Mame Mandiaye Niang asked the Pre-Trial Chamber Feb. 19 to reject his waiver of his right to appear at the confirmation hearing starting Feb. 23.
Niang said Duterte is “fit, competent, and physically and mentally able to attend the hearing” based on conclusion of the panel of experts that the Chamber hired to examine him.
He said Duterte’s complaints that he is “old, tired, and frail” are irrelevant citing again citing again the experts’ citing again the experts’ unanimous conclusion that he “is an unreliable historian in regard to assessment of his health and mental fitness.”
Niang said Duterte’s statement that he will not even follow the proceedings via video link “demonstrates that his reasons to avoid appearing in public are not health related but rather due to his lack of respect for the Court.”
He further said Duterte’s refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the proceedings, insisting that he was “kidnapped” does not constitute cause to hold the confirmation hearing in his absence.
On the other hand, Niang said there are compelling reasons for Duterte to appear before the Court beginning Monday next week: .”It is also important that the proceedings are open and that Mr Duterte is visible while he defends the criminal charges made against him. The Defence itself acknowledged the importance of this principle as recently as 9 January 2026, when it complained again that Mr Duterte had ‘not been seen in court for ten months’”.
The purpose of confirmation hearings, scheduled on Feb 23, 24, 26 and 27 (5 p.m Manila time) is “to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged.” If any charges are confirmed, the case will move to a Trial Chamber for the next phase: the trial proper.
The hearings can be followed with a 30-minute delay on the ICC website (Courtroom I), as well as on the ICC Facebook accounts and on the ICC YouTube Channel.