MANILA (6th UPDATE) — Former President Rodrigo Duterte made his first appearance at the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands on Friday, where he faces allegations of crimes against humanity over his deadly war on drugs.

The 79-year-old appeared before judges for a hearing, where he was set to be informed of the crimes he is alleged to have committed, as well as his rights as a defendant.

According to ICC spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah on Thursday night, Duterte attended the proceedings via video link.  

"As Mr Duterte made a long journey ... the Chamber authorised Mr Duterte to follow the hearing at a distance.  His  counsel, however, is present with us in the courtroom," El Abdallah said.

"The suspect is present at the detention center," the spokesperson added.

Sounding frail and wearing a blue suit and tie, Duterte spoke briefly to confirm his name and date of birth. The presiding judge allowed him to follow proceedings in absentia due to his long flight to The Hague.

Duterte 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, he 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.

The Philippine National Police has acknowledged more than 6,000 killed in anti-narcotics operation and has claimed those who were killed had violently resisted arrest.

Victims' families and rights groups as well as a Department of Justice review have cast doubt on that narrative. They 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 organizers 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.

LAST-MINUTE BID

Earlier Friday, 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.

However, ICC Judge Iulia Motoc did not grant the motions of the defense counsel, former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, to postpone Duterte's appearance hearing to next week.

During the initial hearing, Medialdea questioned Duterte's arrest and transfer to The Hague, describing it as an "extrajudicial rendition" and a "kidnapping".

He added that he was not given enough time to talk to Duterte regarding the case and the allegations against him, and the former Philippine leader was allegedly not given a hard copy of his arrest warrant. 

"Two days ago, the whole world has witnessed the degrading fashion in which a former president of a sovereign country was bundled into a private aircraft and summarily transported to the Hague. To us lawyers, this would be called extrajudicial rendition; to the less legally inclined, it was a pure and simple kidnapping. My client was denied all access to the legal recourse in the country of his citizenship and this, all in the nature of political score-settling," Medialdea said.

"My client is not able to contribute anything to this hearing. Most importantly, he is not able even to tell you that he has been informed of the charges as contained in the arrest warrant for a reason more pertinent to which I alluded in my written request to this honorable pretrial chamber this morning, and which is confidential in nature," he added.

Medialdea also said Duterte was suffering "debilitating medical issues." 

Duterte appeared sleepy during the proceedings, closing his eyes frequently for long periods.

But Judge Motoc told Duterte: "The court doctor was of the opinion that you were fully mentally aware and fit". 

She set a date of September 23, 2025 for the next stage of the process, a hearing to confirm the charges.

INITIAL HEARING

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

VP Sara, Harry Roque, Robin Padilla arrive at ICC for Rodrigo Duterte's case

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.

"It's important to underline, as we now start a new stage of proceedings, that Mr. Duterte is presumed innocent," said Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quoted 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."

Before he landed in The Hague on Wednesday, Duterte said in a Facebook video: “For all of the whatever happened in the past, ako na ‘yung nag-front sa ating law enforcement pati military. Sinabi ko na, I will protect you and I will… ako ang managot sa lahat.”

Duterte case seen as a 'gift' for embattled ICC

“This will be a long, legal proceeding but I say to you, I will continue to serve my country and so be it kung ganun ang destiny ko,” the former leader said.

Vice President Sara Duterte has labeled her father's arrest as "oppression and persecution".

The Duterte family has sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court of the Philippines to stop his transfer.

Duterte supporters also gathered outside the hulking glass building in the Hague shouting "bring him home."

'NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW'

But Ecel Sandalo, an anti-Duterte demonstrator, told AFP the fact the former president was on trial had given him "hope that despite all the injustices in the world, there are still small victories that we can celebrate."

Victims of the "war on drugs" hope that ex-President Duterte will finally face justice for his alleged crimes.

"My clients are very thankful to God because their prayers have been answered," said Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug war.

"The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a great signal for international criminal justice. It means that no one is above the law," Andres added.

Duterte case seen as a 'gift' for embattled ICC

ICC’s 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 emphasize, international law is not as weak as some may think," Khan said in a statement following Duterte's arrival in ICC custody.

"When we come together... when we build partnerships, the rule of law can prevail. Warrants can be executed," he said. — With reports from Agence France-Presse