Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team has raised privacy concerns over a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution panel seeking access to keys and other personal items seized from him after his arrest, saying the materials may include private belongings of his family members.

Lead defense counsel Peter Haynes, in a filing dated 26 June, opposed the prosecution’s second request for access to materials held by the ICC Registry, describing it as a “fishing expedition” that came “far too late” in the proceedings.

It involves items taken from Duterte following his arrest and transfer to the ICC on 12 March 2025.

The prosecution’s request, filed on 9 June 2026, seeks access to several materials, including “all keys in the Registry’s custody,” according to the publicly redacted version of the Registry’s observations submitted on 25 June.

Duterte’s defense team argued that granting access to the items could affect the privacy rights of third parties, particularly Duterte’s relatives, because the keys were seized while the former president was traveling with his family.

Private items

The lawyers said the keys “may provide access to material belonging to, or concerning, his relatives,” raising concerns that the prosecution could examine personal items unrelated to the charges against Duterte.

It maintained that the prosecution had already been aware of the seized materials since 14 March 2025, when the ICC Registry submitted its initial report on Duterte’s arrest.

The defense argued that the existing chain-of-custody documentation already provides an official inventory of the items, making the additional request unnecessary.

On the other hand, the ICC Registry said that if Trial Chamber III approves the request, the seized materials would be transferred from the detention section to the court management section and secured in the Registry vault before being made available to the prosecution for consultation or as otherwise directed by the chamber.

The Registry’s observations were filed confidentially and ex parte, meaning they were accessible only to the prosecution, defense, and Registry. A public version released on 26 June contained redactions to protect sensitive information.

The Trial Chamber III was asked by the defense to impose a 30 June deadline for any further prosecution requests involving Registry-held materials, arguing that continued requests could cause unnecessary delays in the proceedings.

The ICC case against Duterte stemmed from an arrest warrant issued over allegations of crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

The trial is scheduled to begin on 30 November before Trial Chamber III composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek, and Judge Nicolas Guillou.

It will mark the first time a former Philippine president has faced a trial before the ICC and the first case involving a former Southeast Asian head of state before the international tribunal.