Philippines' Duterte Fit For ICC Trial, Say Families Of Drug War Victims Seeking Justice

2026-09-16 02:34:03

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) More than 20 families crammed into a small room in a Church-owned compound in Manila on Wednesday (September 16) to watch the International Criminal Court (ICC) case conference of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, whom they accuse of masterminding the killings of their loved ones.

Llore Pasco, mother of Crisanto and Juan Carlos Lozano, who were killed in May 2017 during police operations in Quezon City, was surprised when she saw Duterte onscreen. The former strongman, unexpectedly, decided to appear for the first time in the ICC chamber.

Recommended For You

Llore stared at the image of the first former Asian head of state to stand trial before the international tribunal who is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

She noticed Duterte still sporting jet-black hair, albeit longer, indicating that he has not had a haircut in months. Duterte also appeared thinner. But, if anything, it made him look fitter compared with his laboured movements when he was arrested at the Manila International Airport in March 2025.

After a while, Llore smiled. The 81-year-old respondent seemed fit to stand trial after all.

Trial can proceed

For months, members of the Duterte clan who visited him at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen, on the outskirts of The Hague in the Netherlands, claimed the former president was growing weaker and infirm. They said he could no longer stand on his own and that he was starting to lose some of his mental faculties. The claims had been repeated by his first defence lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, several times.

The ICC said Duterte slipped on the floor just once. He is given regular checkups by ICC doctors and is being watched around the clock.

“Duterte's appearance in court today proves that he has been feigning illness all this time. It was a delaying tactic, delaying justice and delaying healing for the victims' families. We sincerely hope to see him again on the first day of the trial on November 30, and for him to finally face the victims of his crimes,” the Netherlands branch of the Duterte Panagutin Network said.

The group pointed out the former Philippine president is still fortunate despite a year and a half of imprisonment.“While Duterte is afforded the right to a status conference and panels of experts to see if he is fit to stand trial, thousands of victims, especially poor Filipinos, were killed in cold blood and never allowed to tell their stories,” they added.

Trial to start soon

The formal trial to determine whether Duterte indeed ordered the mass killings of suspected drug users is due to start in just 10 weeks. Members of the victims' families' group Rise Up for Life and for Rights have yet to raise funds to buy plane tickets to the Netherlands.

“Of course I want to attend the opening of the trial. I want to see the person who ordered my sons' killings. I've waited for nearly a decade to witness the moment,” Llore told Khaleej Times.

But their lawyer, former parliamentarian Neri Colmenares, said they do not yet have the funds to send victims' families to The Hague in November. Nor do they have the funds to attend all the trial dates that he thinks would last at least two years, he admitted.

“The ICC prosecutors and the complainants may be able to present all their evidence and arguments by next year. I hope the defence would only take as long,” Colmenares said. But Duterte's surprise appearance indicates that he is fit to stand trial, he added.

Philippines' Duterte Fit For ICC Trial, Say Families Of Drug War Victims Seeking Justice

More Story