MANILA: Former President Rodrigo Duterte will remain in detention after the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Appeals Chamber rejected his appeal seeking temporary release.
In a 29-page decision dated March 6, the Appeals Chamber unanimously upheld the earlier ruling of Pre-Trial Chamber I that Duterte should remain in ICC custody, finding no new or changed circumstances that would justify modifying the detention order.
Duterte’s lawyers argued that the lower chamber committed errors of law and fact and abused its discretion when it refused to consider a medical report prepared by doctors selected by the defence.
They said the report showed that Duterte’s health condition, including alleged cognitive impairment, weakened the risks cited by the court as basis for his continued detention.
But the Appeals Chamber ruled that the defence failed to show that any alleged error materially affected the decision.
“If the relevant chamber committed such an error, the Appeals Chamber will only intervene if the error materially affected the decision impugned on appeal,” the judgment read.
The court also said it would not overturn a lower chamber’s evaluation of the facts unless it was unreasonable.
“It will interfere only in the case where it cannot discern how the Chamber’s conclusion could have reasonably been reached from the evidence before it,” the ruling said.
On Duterte’s health, including his alleged cognitive impairment, the Appeals Chamber noted that the issue had already been raised during the initial detention ruling and had been considered by the Pre-Trial Chamber.
It added that the lower chamber had relied on the findings of a panel of court-appointed medical experts who examined Duterte in December 2025.
The Appeals Chamber said the defence failed to show any error in the Pre-Trial Chamber’s reliance on the panel’s findings, which it described as the most updated medical information on Duterte’s condition.
“The Appeals Chamber finds that the Defence has failed to establish any errors of the Pre-Trial Chamber in relying upon the Panel’s Reports which provide the most updated medical information in respect of Mr Duterte’s health condition,” the judgment read.
The chamber also declined to revisit arguments tied to the initial detention ruling that had already been resolved in a previous appeal.
“The Appeals Chamber finds that such a practice is not an appropriate use of judicial time and resources. Accordingly, the Appeals Chamber will not entertain the Defence’s arguments in this respect,” it said.
With these findings, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the lower chamber’s ruling that Duterte should remain detained while proceedings continue.
Duterte was surrendered to the ICC on March 12, 2025, after a warrant of arrest was issued against him on March 7, 2025 for the crime against humanity of murder allegedly committed in the Philippines between Nov. 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
