Prosecutors in the case against Rodrigo Duterte have secured access to materials held by the International Criminal Court’s registry, after the tribunal approved their request in connection with the proceedings.
That development comes as Trial Chamber III scrapped a status conference that had been set for July 14, which would have been the third such hearing in the case.
The court explained the cancelation in a statement, saying: “The Chamber decided as such in light of the parties and participants indicating that they do not have specific matters which require attention at this stage of the proceeding.”
Parties will instead reconvene on Wednesday, September 16. The trial proper remains on the calendar for Monday, November 30.
Judges have twice previously called the parties together. During the June 23 session, the chamber cautioned everyone involved against discussing the case with journalists. A month earlier, at the inaugural conference on May 27, judges fixed the November 30, 2026 trial date and directed that Duterte’s fitness to face proceedings be assessed anew.
The charges stem from killings allegedly carried out while Duterte led the country and, before that, while he served as mayor of Davao City. Prosecutors have framed those deaths as crimes against humanity.
Duterte has been held at the ICC Detention Centre in Scheveningen, in The Hague, since Philippine authorities took him into custody in March 2025 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
