Medical specialists appointed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are preparing to deliver a formal assessment on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s health, days after judges refused to grant him temporary liberty. Their findings, according to lawyer Kristina Conti of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, are due before Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I on Dec. 5.
Conti said the expert panel is expected to determine whether Duterte can still comprehend the proceedings and respond to questions. “Dec. 5 is the deadline for three independent panel of experts, independent, to say, is he still able to understand what is happening and is he able to answer the questions,” she noted on Friday night.
The results will be circulated to all parties, who must submit comments by Dec. 12. Any ruling based on the medical assessment is likely to be released early next year, as the chamber will suspend session after Dec. 12.
The 80-year-old former leader remains detained at the ICC’s Scheveningen facility in The Hague after the Appeals Chamber unanimously upheld a September ruling that denied his request for interim release. Judges ruled that the defense “failed to demonstrate” any error in the earlier decision from PTC I.
Duterte faces three counts of murder as a crime against humanity linked to over 49 deaths attributed to his anti-drug campaign. Lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman acknowledged the chamber has never approved interim liberty for an individual charged with crimes against humanity but said his team would continue pursuing options.
“The Defense awaits the results of the medical evaluation of the former President due next month and will reintroduce its request to release a man who is 80 years old and, as a result of debilitating physical and cognitive conditions, is incapable of flight or, as alleged, threats to witnesses,” Kaufman said.
Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, condemned the appeals ruling in a weekend statement, accusing the tribunal of using him as a political target. “It has decided that Duterte will be its whipping boy, aided and abetted by the present weak and compliant Philippine government itself in need of something to divert attention away from massive corruption scandals and systemic failure of governance,” the party said.
The statement, written by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, also criticized the ICC’s “double standards” and “liberal woke orientation,” alleging the court needed a “trophy” amid global challenges to its credibility.
PDP-Laban reiterated support for Duterte’s pending request for an “indefinite adjournment” of all pretrial proceedings, citing claims of “cognitive impairment in multiple domains.”
At a gathering of families of drug war victims on Friday, Conti contrasted the medical resources available to Duterte in detention with the lack of access experienced by many Filipinos. “Duterte is still lucky compared to our situation. [If we] don’t have money, we can’t get ourselves checked. People can’t help but wonder, the one who is detained, the one who did the crime, is the one being treated like a baby,” she said.
