Duterte unable to physically attend ICC pre-trial due to health issues

Former President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on a screen in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with his lawyer Salvador Medialdea seated left, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte was unable to physically attend the pre-trial hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands on Friday due to health problems.

Duterte participated via video call.

In a manifestation by one of Duterte’s legal counsels, former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, he cited Duterte’s “debilitating medical issues, hard of hearing, and poor of sight.”

However, Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc said ICC’s doctors had assessed Duterte’s health upon his arrival at the detention center and they found him to be “fully mentally aware and fit.”

Motoc also said that when Duterte’s camp informed the court that the former president would not be able to physically attend the hearing, doctors agreed that he was unfit to appear in person.

“The doctors who consulted with you were of the opinion that Mr. Duterte was not in a position to come to the hearing physically but that if he gave a written permission, he would be able to take part via video link,” Motoc said.

Duterte arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday night (Manila time) and was turned over to the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen, The Hague.

He was the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.