THE HAGUE (UPDATED) – Former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is scheduled to make his initial appearance before the International Criminal Court on March 14, 2025, at 2:00 PM (local time / 9:00 PM Manila time) before Pre-Trial Chamber I.

In the decision issued March 13, the hearing will be led by the same three female judges that issued the arrest warrant against former President Duterte, namely, presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, and Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera.

According to article 60(1) of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, and rule 121(1) of the ICC Rules, a person subject to a warrant of arrest under article 58 of the Statute shall appear before the Pre-Trial Chamber and be informed of the crimes he is alleged to have committed, his rights under the Rome Statute, and the date for a hearing to confirm or decline to confirm the charges.

All initial appearances before the Pre-Trial Chamber are public, in accordance with ICC regulations to ensure fair proceedings.

The Pre-Trial Chamber has also been notified of former President Duterte’s wishes to be assisted by his ex-Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the Office of Public Counsel for Defense. The ICC Registry has acknowledged the request and confirmed it will facilitate Medialdea’s presence at Duterte’s initial appearance.

Duterte was taken into custody by Philippine authorities in compliance with an ICC arrest warrant issued under seal on March 7, 2025. He was subsequently handed over to ICC custody on March 12. The charges against him involve murder as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019. During this time, he held roles as President of the Philippines, Mayor of Davao City, and was reportedly the leader of the Davao Death Squad.

LAST-MINUTE BID

But his daughter Sara Duterte, vice president of the Philippines, said she had submitted a last-minute bid to get the hearing moved.

"We are praying and hoping that the court will grant our request to move the initial appearance just so that we can properly sit down with the former president and discuss the legal strategies since we haven't talked to him yet," she told AFP outside the court.

Duterte, the first Asian head of state to face ICC charges, stands accused of the crime against humanity of murder over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed thousands.

In the prosecutor's application for his arrest, they said Duterte's alleged crimes were "part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in the Philippines."

"Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated," the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

Victims' families have welcomed the trial as a chance to get justice, while Duterte supporters believe he was "kidnapped" and sent to The Hague amid a spectacular fall-out with the ruling Marcos family.

A group of family members, lawyers and human rights activists was set to gather in Manila on Friday night to watch a livestream of the ICC hearing, said organisers Rise Up and the Duterte Accountability Campaign Network.

According to international law experts, his whirlwind arrest and surrender to the ICC offers a welcome boon to the embattled court which is being attacked from all sides and sanctioned by the United States.

"I see the arrest and handing over of Duterte as a gift at an important moment in time," Willem van Genugten, Professor of International Law at Tilburg University in The Netherlands, told AFP.

The hearing is due to take place at 2:00 pm local time (1300 GMT) at the hulking glass headquarters of the ICC based in The Hague. Pro- and anti-Duterte protests are expected outside.

'KILL ALL OF YOU' 

As he landed in The Hague, the former leader appeared to accept responsibility for his actions, saying in a Facebook video: "I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible."

In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quotes from some of Duterte's  pronouncements when he was running for president.

He is cited as saying the number of criminal suspects killed "will become 100,000... I will kill all of you" and the fish in Manila Bay "will become fat because that's where I will throw you."

Duterte has undergone health checks during his detention in The Hague.

The Philippines embassy in The Hague said on its website the former president told a consular official he had "received medical care and that he is generally fine."

Vice President Duterte is in The Netherlands to support her father, after labelling his arrest "oppression and persecution", with the Duterte family having sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to stop his transfer.

At the initial hearing, a suspect can request interim release pending a trial, according to ICC rules.

Following that first hearing, the next phase is a session to confirm the charges, at which point a suspect can challenge the prosecutor's evidence.

Only after that hearing will the court decide whether to press ahead with a trial, a process that could take several months or even years.

Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan hailed Duterte's arrest as a key moment for victims and international justice as a whole.

"Many say that international law is not as strong as we want, and I agree with that. But as I also repeatedly emphasise, international law is not as weak as some may think," Khan said in a statement following Duterte's arrival in ICC custody.

INITIAL APPEARANCE

The initial appearance is one of two proceedings before any actual trial takes place. It is an integral part of ICC procedures because it ascertains the basic rights of any individual to be informed, not only of the charges they are facing but most importantly their rights, which include the right to apply for interim release pending trial.

Duterte inside Scheveningen detention center, ICC spokesperson confirms

The request must be made in writing and must be decided upon by the Pre-Trial Chamber without delay. However, an interim release does not mean full liberty and the ability to go back to regular activities since it is subject to several conditions. Under Rule 119 of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence, these include:

Rule 119

Conditional release

1. The Pre-Trial Chamber may set one or more conditions restricting liberty, including the following:

(a) The person must not travel beyond territorial limits set by the Pre-Trial Chamber without the explicit agreement of the Chamber;

(b) The person must not go to certain places or associate with certain persons as specified by the Pre-Trial Chamber;

(c) The person must not contact directly or indirectly victims or witnesses;

(d) The person must not engage in certain professional activities;

(e) The person must reside at a particular address as specified by the Pre-Trial Chamber;

(f) The person must respond when summoned by an authority or qualified person designated by the Pre-Trial Chamber;

(g) The person must post bond or provide real or personal security or surety, for which the amount and the schedule and mode of payment shall be determined by the Pre-Trial Chamber;

(h) The person must supply the Registrar with all identity documents, particularly his or her passport.

The Pre-Trial Chamber also makes several important considerations, including the views of victims or witnesses that could be at risk as a result of a release or conditions imposed.

NEXT STEP

After an initial appearance, the next step is a hearing for the confirmation of charges before trial. According to the ICC, this process may be held even in the absence of the person charged. The Pre-Trial Chamber will hold a hearing to confirm the charges on which the prosecutor intends to seek trial. After which, the Pre-Trial Chamber may:

a) Confirm the charges and commit the person for trial. Upon confirmation, the Presidency of the Court will constitute a Trial Chamber responsible for subsequent proceedings.

b) Decline to confirm the charges, a decision that does not prevent the Prosecutor from returning with a subsequent request on the basis of additional evidence.

c) Adjourn the hearing and ask the Prosecutor to consider providing further evidence or to pursue further investigation or, alternatively, to amend the charges because the available evidence shows a different crime.

Once charges have been confirmed, a trial may now commence, requiring again the presence of the accused. The trial will also be made public except when there is a need “to protect the safety of victims and witnesses or sensitive information.” - with a report from Agence France-Presse

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