The International Criminal Court has confirmed that the trial of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will commence in November, with a panel of British judges overseeing proceedings. This historic case marks the first time a former head of state from Southeast Asia will face the ICC over allegations of crimes against humanity linked to his bloody war on drugs.
The court in The Hague announced the trial date on Tuesday, following a pre-trial chamber ruling that there was sufficient evidence to proceed. The judges, led by Justice Sarah Morrison from the United Kingdom, will hear arguments on whether Duterte’s extrajudicial killings of thousands of suspected drug users and dealers between 2011 and 2019 constituted systematic attacks on civilian populations.
Duterte, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, called the trial a politically motivated attack on Philippine sovereignty. “This is an assault on our nation’s right to protect itself,” he said during a televised address from Manila, where he remains under house arrest. His legal team has vowed to challenge the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, though the court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed before the withdrawal.
The case has polarised global opinion. Human rights groups applaud the ICC’s move as a long-overdue step toward accountability. “This trial sends a clear message that leaders cannot use state power to commit mass atrocities with impunity,” said Anna Reyes of Amnesty International. But critics warn the trial risks destabilising the Philippines and setting a dangerous precedent for prosecuting foreign leaders. Foreign ministers from several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states have expressed concern, fearing the trial could strain regional diplomacy.
At the heart of the case is the interpretation of Duterte’s “war on drugs,” a campaign that saw police and vigilantes kill over 6,000 people, according to official figures, though independent estimates suggest numbers are far higher. Prosecutors argue these killings amounted to a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population, fulfilling the legal threshold for crimes against humanity. The defence maintains that Duterte’s policies were lawful counter-narcotics operations and that any individual abuses were punished.
The trial’s timeline is ambitious. With hundreds of witnesses and thousands of documents, legal experts predict the proceedings could stretch into 2028. The ICC has allocated a dedicated courtroom equipped with state-of-the-art technology to handle the complex digital evidence, including encrypted messages and drone footage.
For now, the focus is on November’s opening statements. Duterte is expected to testify, potentially providing a dramatic platform for his fiery rhetoric. But his age and declining health have raised questions about his ability to endure a lengthy trial. The court has assured that medical provisions are in place.
As the world watches, the Duterte trial tests the limits of international justice. It forces a reckoning with the moral calculus of sovereignty versus human rights, a debate that will echo long after the verdict.
