Duterte ‘fit’ for pre-trial proceedings, say ICC-accredited medical experts

By Nash Villena, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
December 31, 2025

(File Photo | International Criminal Court)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The panel of medical experts accredited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) unanimously found former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte “fit to participate” for his pre-trial proceedings.

In a court document publicised on Dec. 18, the three independent and qualified experts appointed by the Pre-Trial Chamber I, who assessed Duterte from Oct. 8 to Nov. 18, have concluded that he has the cognitive capability to understand his charges and the purpose of the proceedings.

“Upon completion of their assessments, panel members individually reached the same overall conclusion that, while frail and elderly, Mr Duterte nevertheless possesses the necessary capacities to meaningfully exercise his procedural and fair trial rights,” the document read.

“These findings are clear and unanimous, and should be relied upon the Chamber as authoritative, to determine that Mr Duterte is fit to stand trial,” it added.

Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s counsel, questioned the findings and was swift to request clarification before the Pre-Trial Chamber, noting “inconsistencies” from the experts’ assessments.

“While the experts pronounce on Mr Duterte’s rudimentary ability to engage in a criminal process, it is not clear what they actually know, if at all, about the complex nature of confirmation proceedings at the ICC, which require a suspect to be familiar, through his defence, with thousands of items of evidence comprising an investigation dating back more than four years,” Kaufman said.

“For this reason, the Defence seeks an evidentiary hearing whereby the parties will be able to clarify the conclusions of the experts, the reasons for such conclusions, the methodology adopted during the interviews, and the means whereby instructions were communicated to them,” Kaufman added.

Meanwhile, Filipino political pundits and ICC-accredited lawyers are looking forward to Duterte’s confirmation of charges as early as the first quarter of 2026.

Duterte is currently detained at the ICC Detention Centre in Scheveningen, The Hague, since early March 2025 for his alleged crimes against humanity during his bloody illegal drugs crackdown in the Philippines.