MANILA: Former President Rodrigo Duterte (pic) is once again expected to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III on Tuesday (Oct 13) for the fourth status conference in his crimes against humanity case.
Duterte is expected to attend the conference as he has yet to waive his right to attend the hearing as granted by the chamber.
Should he attend, this will mark Duterte’s second personal appearance in the court proceedings.
His last appearance was during the chamber’s third status conference on Sept. 16, 2026, and before that on March 14, 2025 where he only attended through videoconferencing.
Judges have also recently declared that Duterte is physically and mentally well and would be able to follow the proceedings and defend himself once he is put on trial starting next month.
Tuesday’s proceedings will revolve around the trial proper’s daily sitting schedule come Nov. 30, including the trial’s opening statements and first evidentiary block in December 2026.
Judges will also hear submissions on the prosecution’s list of witnesses and decide on the number of hours they will have to present the case, while the defense and the common legal representatives will likewise be expected to provide their respective estimates.
Also on the agenda are the registry’s capacity to assist the process, the registry’s update on interpretation for the start of trial, as well as the defense’s submissions on readiness for the trial.
Like previous status conferences, it will begin at 10 a.m. (The Hague local time), which is 4 p.m. in the Philippines, and will be streamed through the ICC’s official channels with a 30-minute delay.
Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity due to his administration’s bloody war against drugs, which killed at least 6,000 people, based on government records, and over 30,000, based on human rights records, including children as young as three years old. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
