Rodrigo Duterte attended his second ICC status conference on October 13, 2026, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected his defense’s bid to limit the prosecution’s evidence to 10,000 items ahead of his November 30 trial.
Rodrigo Duterte, the former Philippine president, appeared before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on October 13, 2026. The trial chamber rejected his defense’s request to cap the prosecution’s evidence at 10,000 items. The hearing, held ahead of his November 30 trial for crimes against humanity, centered on the volume of evidence. The defense argued it would hinder preparation. Presiding Judge Joanna Korner ruled that limiting the evidence would violate disclosure obligations. She urged both sides to identify exculpatory materials. Duterte, who faces three counts of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs, attended the fourth status conference on his case on Tuesday, October 13. This marks the second instance where the former president has appeared in court following his arrest in March 2025.
Evidence Limits and Trial Date Set
The ICC’s Trial Chamber III confirmed the trial will begin on November 30, 2026. Prosecutors argued that the dataset—comprising 62,130 items, 320,000 pages, and 1,000 audio-visual materials—required careful review. Defense lead counsel Peter Haynes claimed the volume was unmanageable. A separate dispute arose over the prosecution’s plan to submit written testimonies from witnesses.
The prosecution emphasized that submitting written statements will not violate Duterte’s rights as an accused. Acting Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang stated that the written accounts would not prejudice the accused. Cross-examination rights would remain intact. The prosecution previously moved to admit the pre-recorded statements of witnesses P-0024, P-1357, and P-1359.
Prosecution Pushes for Written Testimonies
Despite the prosecution’s efforts, the defense countered that the dataset’s complexity required a review. It cited a separate institution’s year-long manual analysis of a dataset. Lead counsel Peter Haynes claimed the prosecution used artificial intelligence to summarize documents. Prosecutors denied this. Analysts and some lawyers have gone through the material page by page, manually,
said Julian Nicholls, a prosecution lawyer. The chamber acknowledged the workload but emphasized that the trial must proceed as scheduled.
Families Seek Justice in Legal Proceedings
Victims’ families, including Dahlia Cuartero, mother of victim Jesus Cuartero, expressed hope that the trial will continue. Dahlia Cuartero told the media in Filipino: This is important for us, because we are closely watching for justice to prevail through the ICC.
The Duterte Panagutin Network Europe criticized procedural delays. It stated that victims had waited too long for accountability. Duterte is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity. These include alleged murders and attempted murders in the Philippines from November 2011 to March 2019.
The trial’s scope covers alleged killings tied to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. Nicholls explained during the proceedings that the prosecution may agree that the drug war resulted in approximately 3,400 deaths. As of August 31, 2020, the Philippine National Police reported 7,884 alleged drug suspects killed. Some human rights organizations estimate the number of victims could reach 27,000 to 30,000 when including vigilante killings. The fifth status conference in the ICC’s crimes against humanity case against former President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled for November 2. Rappler and ABS-CBN provided key details on the evidence dispute and trial schedule.