Duterte makes first appearance before ICC judges

Lawyers for the 81-year-old have said he is suffering from cognitive declineImage: International Criminal Court/Anadolu Agency/IMAGOAdvertisementRodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, made his first in-person appearance before judges at the  International Criminal Court (ICC) at a pretrial hearing on Wednesday.

The 81-year-old faces charges of crimes against humanity in connection with hundreds of murders committed during his "war on drugs" while in office.

Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022, denies the allegations.

He has missed a series of hearings since he was arrested in March 2025 and has previously appeared in court via videolink.

Duterte's legal team have said he suffers from poor health, but the court's judges ruled in January that he was fit enough to follow proceedings and requested his presence in court. 

The ex-president "suffers from a significant memory impairment that prevents him from retaining recent information and reliably accessing his memories," his lawyers said. 

The prosecution, meanwhile, argued Duterte was "capable of meaningfully exercising his procedural and fair trial rights, and that he is fit for trial."

Rodrigo Duterte is accused of crimes against humanity committed between 2011 and 2019, first when he was the mayor of the southern city of Davao and then as Philippine president.

Prosecutors say he is responsible for a systematic campaign that led to the deaths of at least 30,000 people, many of them during "anti-drug" raids.  

Duterte's trial is scheduled for November this year.

During Wednesday's pretrial hearing, judges were to hear arguments about his health and decide whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.