On the first appearance of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 rebuked his camp twice.
First, the chamber rejected two motions, one of which was for the postponement of the March 14 “initial appearance,” filed earlier in the day by Duterte’s private counsels led by former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Second, the chamber dismissed Medialdea’s verbal manifestation in court in which he raised concern about Duterte’s health and protested the former president’s arrest on March 11 and his eventual surrender to the ICC jurisdiction on March 12.
On both instances, Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc had to remind that yesterday’s hearing was “neither the start of the trial nor is it a confirmation of charges,” but merely to “introduce the parties and to ascertain the charges and to set a date for the confirmation of charges.”
Responding to Medialdea’s concern over Duterte’s health, Judge Motoc explained that subsequent to the former president’s arrest and upon arrival at the Scheveningen detention facility, about 1.5 kilometers from the ICC headquarters in The Hague, specific measures had been taken with regard to his health situation.
She said the court’s doctor assured that Duterte was “fully mentally aware and fit” and that he had undergone further checks and tests at the detention facility.
She said the chamber allowed Duterte to participate in the March 14 hearing “via video link” instead of appearing in person in consideration of his “long journey involving a considerable time difference.”
Duterte employs “frail card” in first appearance
Eyes barely open, hard of hearing and with slightly slurred speech from his trembling lips – Duterte appeared as a weak old man in his initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber 1.
On March 14, exactly seven years since he ordered the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the former president appeared for the first time before the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity. In its warrant of arrest dated March 7, the ICC said it found reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte is responsible for murders that transpired between Nov. 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 when he was the president and, Davao City mayor and allegedly the “founder and head” of the Davao Death Squad, which was organized to “neutralize” suspected criminals, including alleged drug offenders.
“The word ‘neutralize’ was used and understood by those involved in the operations to mean to ‘kill’,” part of the 15-page arrest warrant said.
Duterte, who once threatened to “slap” ICC judges, was in an all-blue suit and tie. He talked only three times – when he stated his full name, when he asked the judge’s question on his birth date to be repeated and when he gave his date and place of birth.
It was Medialdea who did most of the talking on his behalf when the court allowed him to make a manifestation in defense of the seemingly frail former president. Contrary to his client’s feeble appearance, Medialdea firmly argued that Duterte was kidnapped, raised concerns about his health, accused the ICC of many things and mentioned his earlier appeal to postpone the proceeding to next week.
Duterte ‘well taken care of’ at detention facility
Vice President Sara Duterte, in a briefing outside the detention facility after visiting her father, said the former president was in the “hospital wing” of the center and was “in good spirits” and “well taken care of.”
“I said, ‘you look well rested,’ and he said, ‘well, I don’t do anything here but sleep and watch TV,” the vice president said.
“And then I asked him about the food because I know his preference is Filipino food and he said, ‘my only complaint is that I really, really miss Filipino food,” the younger Duterte told media persons and vloggers in the briefing carried on live stream by the major local news channels.
The vice president said there was a “good development” when her father was served rice in a recent meal.
Medialdea claims Duterte was kidnapped, his rights deprived
The former executive secretary, who was with Duterte during his brief travel in Hong Kong and when he was arrested upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on March 11, protested that the former president was “abducted” and transported to The Hague.
“Two days ago, the whole world has witnessed the degrading fashion in which a former president of a sovereign country was bundled into an aircraft and summarily transported to The Hague. To us lawyers, this will be an extrajudicial rendition. To the less legally inclined, it was a pure and simple kidnapping,” Medialdea said in the beginning of his manifestation.
He then went on that his client “was denied all access to the legal recourse” in the Philippines, questioned why he “sat in transit for more than five hours” at an airport in the United Arab Emirates, a non-party to the ICC, and called the transfer a “gross abuse of process.”
“I invite the registry’s representative to present today in court, to explain to the judges exactly how they believe this transfer was anything other than a gross abuse of process,” Medialdea challenged the ICC.
He also added that Duterte was deprived of his rights when they were not presented with a hard copy of the arrest warrant and only given a redacted version of the prosecution’s request seeking the warrant.
In an earlier panel discussion hosted by the Malacañang, Philippine authorities claimed that Duterte’s rights as a suspect were not deprived. They said he was given enough rest and medical attention, read his Miranda rights, and given an electronic copy of the arrest warrant.
Motoc also refuted the claim.
“We have before us the registry’s report that says that Mr. Duterte has been informed of his rights – including Articles 66 and 67 of the Rome Statute, and that he is aware of his rights and he is also aware of the charges against him. We have before us the report of the registry saying that he was also aware of the warrant of arrest in the English language and he is very well versed in the English language,” Motoc said.
Article 66 and 67 of the Rome Statute refer to the presumption of innocence and the right of the accused.
ICC doctor finds Duterte “fit”
Since day one, Duterte’s camp, including Sen. Bong Go, has been crying foul over Duterte’s arrest, citing his old age and medical conditions.
Backing his client’s seemingly frail appearance in the hearing, Medialdea also highlighted the medical issues.
“Given the precipitous arrival of my client, an elderly man with debilitating medical issues, hard of hearing and poor of sight, he was taken to a hospital for observation. Only this morning have I met him for the first time with less than an hour to discuss legal issues,” Duterte’s counsel said.
However, the court doctors maintained that Duterte is mentally aware and fit and assured the public that they have taken specific measures about the former president’s health.
“I believe that the court has taken specific measures with regard to his health situation and I note that subsequent to his arrest and when he arrived at the detention center, the court’s doctor was at the opinion that [he was] fully mentally aware and fit and that [he has] undergone further checks and tests at the detention facility,” Motoc explained.
Counsel’s motion delaying first hearing rejected
The chamber also junked two motions filed by Duterte’s camp. While these were not discussed in detail, during his manifestation, Medialdea repeated their request to “postpone the substantive aspect of this hearing to next week.”
The court reiterated that they have rejected the request due to the nature of the March 14 proceedings.
“Now, you have seen the two decisions of the court that have been disclosed to you, and you are aware of the fact that these two decisions were refused. And this is tied into the fact that this first initial appearance hearing does not need much preparation, as I have said to you on a number of occasions,” Motoc said.
Hours before the proceeding began, former Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque, arriving at the ICC with the Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and Sen. Robinhood Padilla, told reporters that they will ask for the postponement of the hearing and that they have filled up documents for him and another British lawyer to be included in Duterte’s team of counsels.
Motoc assured Medialdea that they will be given the opportunity to raise their concerns before the actual confirmation of charges.
“There will be a full procedure that will unfurl leading up to the confirmation of charges that will enable Mr. Duterte to raise all the matters that you have just raised with regards to the warrant of arrest, with regards to the crimes committed, with regards to the charges, and any other matters associated with his arrest and the matters of jurisdiction of the court,” Motoc said.
The court set the date for the opening of the confirmation of charges on Sept. 23, 2025. Here, the judges will see if there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that Duterte committed the crimes charged. Once the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to the Trial Chamber which will conduct the actual trial.
In the end, Duterte’s first appearance before the ICC gave the public a glimpse of how his team plans to hold out in the possibly long legal battle.
