ICC shuts door on Rody family visits

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has barred in-person family visits for former President Rodrigo Duterte as his confirmation of charges hearing starts, leaving the 80-year-old detainee to face a crucial stage of the case without seeing relatives, his family said Sunday.

“Please be informed that there are no approved in-person family visits to former President Rodrigo Duterte while the court conducts hearings,” the Duterte family said, confirming what they were told by the ICC.

Duterte has been detained at the ICC’s detention facility in The Hague since March 2025 following his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He faces three counts of crimes against humanity linked to killings during his anti-drug campaign as mayor of Davao City and later as president.

The confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled for 23 to 24 February and 26 to 27 February. The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I earlier granted Duterte’s request to waive his appearance, allowing the proceedings to move forward without him present, either in person or by video link.

Duterte has refused to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, citing the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019. He has also cited his age and health, describing himself as “old, tired, and frail” and saying he has accepted the possibility of dying in detention.

Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal, the ICC maintains it has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019, when the country was still a state party to the Rome Statute.

Legal setbacks

The Duterte family said Filipino lawyers who will attend the confirmation hearing include former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, and former labor secretary Silvestre Bello III, along with lawyers Martin Delgra III, Alfredo Lim Jr. and Caesar Dulay.

The defense team is led by international counsel Nicholas Kaufman. Ahead of the hearing, the defense suffered two setbacks before Pre-Trial Chamber I, presided over by Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, with Judges Reine Alapini-Gansou and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera concurring.

In a unanimous ruling, the chamber denied the defense request to compel prosecutors to disclose additional identifying information about certain witnesses and to provide less-redacted versions of key documents, including the Document Containing the Charges and the Pre-Confirmation Brief.

The judges ruled that the redactions appropriately balance public proceedings with the court’s obligation to protect victims and witnesses, stressing that the right to a public trial does not guarantee access to all details if disclosure could endanger individuals or undermine proceedings.

The chamber also rejected the defense bid to disqualify the external legal representatives of victims, describing the arguments as “speculative and hypothetical.”

Duterte’s lawyers had sought the removal of three Filipino attorneys representing drug war victims — Joel Butuyan, Gilbert Andres, and Nicole Arcaina — alleging potential conflicts of interest.

Kaufman, however, has indicated that the defense will continue to pursue the issue, insisting that the retention of the three Filipino lawyers as common legal representatives for victims “contaminates the entire process and affects the fairness of the proceedings.”

“This issue directly affects not just the fairness of the present proceedings, but the fairness of all proceedings at the International Criminal Court and the deontology of all independent counsel appearing before this institution,” the defense said in a request for leave to appeal dated 20 February.

“Prompt appellate resolution will ensure that the future proceedings will proceed on a sound basis, will avoid any future litigation on the matter, and will remove doubts as to the correctness of the impugned decision,” it added.

‘No interest conflict’

The defense argued that Arcaina’s appointment as case manager was improper due to her prior professional ties with Butuyan and Andres, including her previous work at CenterLaw Philippines from March 2019 to December 2023.

Kaufman also raised concerns that Arcaina may have previously worked with ICC prosecutors during the drug war investigation, alleging this created a “structurally incompatible” role.

The Pre-Trial Chamber, however, ruled that the defense failed to establish a conflict of interest under the ICC’s Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel, noting that the provisions cited apply to counsel and not to case managers.

The chamber also said differences in roles or mandates do not, by themselves, establish a conflict of interest.

Despite the ruling, Kaufman urged swift intervention by the ICC Appeals Chamber, warning that unresolved questions surrounding the victims’ legal representation could “taint the fairness and transparency” of the proceedings and lead to further litigation at later stages.

The confirmation hearing will determine whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe Duterte committed crimes against humanity.

The charges

According to prosecution filings, Duterte faces three thematic counts: alleged murders in or around Davao City during his term as mayor, attributed to the so-called Davao Death Squad; killings of “high-value targets” during his presidency; and murders and attempted murders during barangay clearance operations under what prosecutors describe as a nationwide network of law enforcement officers and non-police actors.

The Document Containing the Charges details 49 incidents involving 78 named victims — 76 killings and two attempted murders — described as a non-exhaustive sample of what prosecutors call a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population.

Official Philippine government data show at least 6,000 people were killed in anti-drug operations during Duterte’s presidency. Human rights groups and ICC prosecutors estimate the death toll could range from 12,000 to as high as 30,000, including vigilante-style killings.

Court records show that as of early February 2026, prosecutors had disclosed 5,145 items of evidence totaling 49,676 pages to the defense, excluding hours of audio-visual material. The prosecution’s internal database reportedly contains more than 129,000 items.

The court has also assessed 531 applications for victim participation in the pretrial proceedings. Prosecutors have cited alleged financial incentives ranging from P50,000 to P1 million paid as covert rewards to police officers, depending on a target’s perceived value.

If the Pre-Trial Chamber finds substantial grounds to believe Duterte committed the crimes charged, the case will proceed to trial. If not, the charges could be declined or amended.

The confirmation hearing marks a pivotal stage in the first ICC case involving a former Philippine head of state, nearly nine years after the initial complaint was filed in June 2017.