Former president Rodrigo Duterte's lawyers accuse prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of trying to revive their investigation after charges had already been confirmed, asking judges to block fresh attempts to inspect belongings seized during his arrest.

In two responses filed before ICC Trial Chamber III on 26 June , the defense said prosecutors were seeking access to Registry-held materials "far too late" in the proceedings and without showing how several of the requested items—including all keys seized from Duterte—were relevant to the crimes alleged against him.

Lead defense counsel Peter Haynes argued that the prosecution was effectively asking the court to let investigators search first and establish relevance later.

"The request is, in substance, a fishing expedition. The Prosecution cannot be permitted to examine the keys in order to articulate, post facto, the evidential foundation required to justify that examination in the first place," the filing read.

A 9 June prosecution motion sought access to specific items listed in the ICC Registry's inventory, including several redacted materials and "all keys in the Registry's custody."

While the defense said it does not object to prosecutors inspecting some of the redacted materials, it argued that the request covering the keys should be denied because prosecutors failed to explain how they relate to the charges against Duterte.

The defense further warned that the keys could unlock personal property belonging to Duterte's relatives, since they were seized while he was traveling with family members.

"It is entirely possible that the keys provide access to material belonging to, or concerning, his relatives, such that their examination would intrude upon the privacy rights of third parties," Haynes said.

The motion was filed after Trial Chamber III, in a 28 May ruling, refused to grant prosecutors blanket access to all items seized from Duterte.

Instead, the chamber ordered prosecutors to identify the specific materials they wanted to inspect after the ICC Registry completed an official inventory of the seized belongings.

That ruling partially granted an earlier prosecution motion filed on 1 May. Judges approved the freezing of money confiscated during Duterte's arrest and directed the Registry to prepare the inventory but described the broader request to inspect all seized materials as "premature."

In a separate response filed Friday, Duterte's lawyers argued that prosecutors should not have been allowed to revisit the seized materials more than a year after Duterte entered ICC custody.

Haynes noted that prosecutors had known since 14 March 2025, that the Registry possessed the items but waited until after the confirmation of charges to seek access.

"Such requests are usually made within days of the arrival of the suspect in custody, or at the earliest opportunity," he said.

The defense also opposed the prosecution's request for another inventory of the seized materials, saying the Registry's existing chain-of-custody records already perform that function. 

It likewise argued that another order freezing seized money was unnecessary because the assets are already under the Registry's control.

Saying the repeated applications threaten to prolong the proceedings, the defense asked Trial Chamber III—Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek and Judge Nicolas Guillou—to set June 30 as the deadline for any further prosecution requests involving Registry-held materials.

Haynes said imposing a cutoff would give the defense adequate time to prepare for trial and preserve the "expeditiousness of the proceedings."

The chamber has yet to rule on the defense's latest objections.