The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution has moved to block a bid by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense to require expert reports for all open-source and user-generated evidence in his trial.

In a filing dated 9 September 2026, the prosecution argued that such evidence covers a broad range of materials and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, rather than automatically requiring expert reports.

The prosecution said the party submitting the evidence bears the burden of establishing its relevance and probative value while assessing its potential prejudicial effect.

It described the defense proposal as “unreasonable, unnecessary and against the interests of judicial efficiency,” adding that it was inconsistent with the court’s prior jurisprudence.

The prosecution acknowledged that some open-source and user-generated evidence may require expert examination, particularly when questions arise over whether material was edited or filtered using artificial intelligence tools.