Philippines Ex-President Faces ICC Court As Mothers Mourn Loved Ones (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANILA/THE HAGUE (Worthy News) – Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has appeared by video link before judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged “crimes against humanity” during his “war on drugs.”

A judge said Duterte had been allowed to participate in his first ICC hearing through videoconference because he “had just come off a long flight.”

Duterte, wearing a jacket and tie, listened to the hearing through headphones, often with his eyes closed. He spoke in English to confirm his name, date, and place of birth.

Presiding judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc set a pre-trial hearing date of September 23 to determine whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong enough to merit sending the case to trial.

If a trial continues, it could take years, and if Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, ICC observers said.

Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Medialdea, stressed that his client had been “abducted from his country.”

“He was summarily transported to The Hague” this week, Medialdea said. “To lawyers, it’s extrajudicial rendition. For less legal minds, it’s pure and simple kidnapping.”

‘POLITICAL SCORE-SETTING

His lawyer called Duterte’s arrest “political score-settling” in the Philippines. Critics also point out that the Philippines is not a member of the ICC. However, current President Ferdinand Marcos said the country acted on an arrest warrant from Interpol, of which the Philippines is a member, adding, “Politics doesn’t enter into it.”

However, Medialdea said that the detention comes at a time when Duterte, 79, has been under observation at a hospital because of health issues.

Duterte’s children have been trying to rally support for their father over recent days. They have accused the Philippines government of undermining the country’s sovereignty by complying with the arrest warrant and demanding that he be returned.

His eldest daughter, Sara Duterte, who is the vice president, traveled to the ICC, where she condemned her father’s detention.

Duterte’s youngest daughter, Veronica, who has shared a video of her father’s arrest on social media, has called for people “to light a candle” in support.

And, Duterte fans told Worthy News they were “praying for his release” despite allegations that up to 30,000 people, mainly poor men and boys, had been shot dead randomly under Duterte’s rule.

“He saved the lives of at least a million Filipinos with his war on drugs,” a municipal worker told Worthy News, who asked not to be identified.

LOVED ONES KILLED

Yet, loved ones of those killed by Duterte’s forces saw his detention as a way to justice.

Remains from more than a dozen victims of extrajudicial killings were laid to rest at a cemetery in Manila this week.

The ceremony, overseen by a priest, was part of a non-government organization’s program to help impoverished victims of Duterte’s war on drugs to find a resting place for their slain relatives. Some were overwhelmed by tears as their loved ones received the dignity they had lacked when Duterte’s forces shot them dead.

Among the remains that were interred was the 44-year-old son of Josephine Comendo, who was killed in 2016. “The justice that we want for those who died is slowly moving forward,” a mother said.

Comdneo said Duterte’s arrest has helped her family “move on.”

Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, is the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC in The Hague.

Tuesday’s shocking arrest comes barely a month after the impeachment of Duterte’s daughter Sara, the country’s vice president, leaving the family’s national political fortunes in deep peril, analysts say.

NOT PROMISING

“Let me put it this way. Their situation wasn’t promising in the first place, even before all of these things happened,” said Michael Henry Yusingco, senior fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center, pointing to polling for May’s mid-term elections.

Only three candidates from Duterte’s PDP Laban party are on track to grab one of the 12 nationally elected Senate seats, while Marcos’s ruling New Philippines Alliance has eight candidates firmly among the leaders, pollsters say.

Those elected will hold the deciding votes in the trial of the vice president, impeached last month on charges of graft, corruption, and an alleged plot to assassinate her former running mate Marcos.

The elder Dutertes was arrested this week at Manila’s international airport after returning home from a trip from Hong Kong despite an ICC warrant for his arrest.

The decision to return may have been because he hoped “to portray himself as a victim,” political analyst Richard Heydarian told French news agency AFP, a gambit that immediately backfired.

“The government outsmarted him by making sure that they had a mechanism in place to… whisk him away directly to The Hague,” Heydarian said.

“I think that really caught them off guard because I think the Dutertes were hoping to… employ legal delaying tactics,” he said, like taking it to the courts to buy supporters time to mount large-scale rallies. But the speed of Duterte’s transfer to The Hague—he was arrested and flown out on the same day—made any such plans moot.

Analysts said that without the quarrel between the vice president and Marcos, the handover to the ICC may never have happened. Yet whatever the reason, those mourning the victims of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s reign are pleased that he may now face a fair trial that was denied to their loved ones.

Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.