Actress Carla Abellana has openly dismissed reports that former president Rodrigo Duterte is struggling with impaired memory while in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
“Bull*hit,” Abellana bluntly wrote in reaction to an online post about Duterte’s defense counsel’s claim.
Duterte’s legal team recently argued before the ICC that the former president suffers from severe cognitive deficiencies, including memory loss and an inability to retain new information. They have asked the court for an indefinite adjournment of proceedings, saying his condition prevents him from meaningfully participating in his own defense.
Court filings cited medical assessments — including a CT scan, an MRI, and a neuropsychological evaluation conducted earlier this year — that reportedly pointed to cognitive decline. His lawyers stressed that Duterte’s impairments cover multiple areas such as memory, reasoning, and executive functioning.
The ICC has since postponed parts of the hearing to allow for an independent assessment of Duterte’s health, with prosecutors also seeking their own medical expert to verify the findings.
