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Photo source: Tingey Injury Law Firm, via Unsplash, May 20, 2020.
24-03-2026 | Roberta Moisuc | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
The International Criminal Court had conducted a confirmation hearing for the charges in the cases against Rodrigo Roa Duterte on February 27th, 2026.
Former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte was elected president in 2016. At the time he had promised to eradicate street crime by cracking down on illegal drugs. On March 12th, 2025, Duterte was arrested and transferred to The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity committed during his tenure as both mayor of Davao City and as president. During his presidency, Duterte has launched a “war on drugs” campaign, which led to the extrajudicial killing of thousands of alleged dealers, buyers and users.
In the case of The Prosecutor v. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the accused is suspected of the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, allegedly committed on the territory of the Republic of the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign.
On February 27th, 2026, a hearing to confirm the charges has taken place before the Pre-Trial Chamber I. The purpose of the hearing was for the judges to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to believe that Mr. Duterte committed the crimes. A three-judge panel heard arguments from prosecutors, victims’ counsel and the defence lawyers. The accused waived his right to be present but prepared a written statement. In his statement, Duterte declared that that he did not recognisze the court’s jurisdiction and claimed he had been “kidnapped”. Pieces of evidence shown before the Court included videos of the accused urging police to kill drug suspects.
The judge panel will start their deliberations. The Pre-Trial Chamber has 60 days to deliver a written decision on the hearing in which they can either confirm the charges, decline based on insufficient evidence or request the Prosecutor to provide evidence or conduct more investigations.
