November 22, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will rule next week on the appeal filed by the camp of former president Rodrigo Duterte on his plea for interim release.
A scheduling order released on Thursday night showed that the judgment on the appeal will be made in open court on Nov. 28 at 10:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. in Manila).
The appeals judges will decide on the appeal filed by Duterte’s defense lawyers, who challenged the Sept. 26 decision issued by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I.
In an earlier message to reporters, Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, described the decision as “erroneous.”
He noted that the ruling rejected “unprecedented State guarantees for a debilitated and cognitively impaired 80-year-old, (who has been) kept from the public eye for more than six months.”
In its 23-page decision, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said Duterte should remain in detention to ensure that he would not obstruct or endanger the investigation and the proceedings.
It outlined why Duterte remains a flight risk and how he could pose a threat to potential witnesses.
The pre-trial judges also rejected the defense’s arguments that Duterte should be released on the basis of humanitarian conditions.
“The Chamber notes that the Defense limits itself to argue that ‘Mr. Duterte is 80 years old and medical reports’ … without substantiating how detention is so detrimental that it justifies his release,” read the ruling.
It stressed that Duterte enjoys the right to medical treatment while in detention, including access to a qualified medical officer with experience in psychiatry and a nurse assigned at the ICC Detention Center.
Both the ICC Office of the Prosecutor and the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims (OCPV) urged the appeals chamber to reject the appeal.
“The decision is reasonable and correct,” ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said in a 20-page submission dated Oct. 31.
“Mr. Duterte’s three grounds of appeal fail to establish any legal or factual error. Rather, the Defense repeatedly expresses its mere disagreement with the decision, mischaracterizes and ignores the Chamber’s reasoning and misstates and misunderstands the applicable law. The appeal should therefore be dismissed,” he added.
Paolina Massidda, OCPV principal counsel who represents victims in the proceedings, said the defense “misrepresented” the decision of the pre-trial judges.
“The Defense, first, indicates that Mr. Duterte is 80 years old, infirm and debilitated, and it is quite cruel to detain him while he enjoys the presumption of innocence,” she said in her submission.
“In this regard, the presumption of liberty does not mean that detention cannot be imposed where there exists a legal basis for doing so and, while the person subject to criminal proceedings shall enjoy the right to liberty, he or she may be deprived of that right as prescribed by law in a manner which is strictly necessary under the circumstances,” she added.
Christmas with Rody?
There are reports that Duterte’s family plans to spend Christmas in The Hague with him.
Duterte has been detained in The Hague since March 11 when he was flown there by Philippine authorities.
If true, Duterte and his family will miss the annual “Pahalipay sa Pasko” gift-giving activity, a decades-long tradition of the Dutertes at their former house in Davao City, which is attended by thousands of residents who gather as early as midnight before the event.
However, some family members may still carry on the activity. — Edith Regalado