ICC denies Duterte's request for expert verification of evidence

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Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte appears before the International Criminal Court, as the court hears arguments regarding Duterte's health and ability to stand trial, while he faces murder charges related to his war on drugs, in The Hague, Netherlands, September 16 2026. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/Pool

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III denied the request of former President Rodrigo Duterte to include an expert verification for open-source or user-generated evidence that will be submitted to the chamber.

“Given the large volume of evidence that has been made available by the Prosecution in the present case, as well as the breadth of open-source and user-generated evidence, such obligation, if implemented, may in the event be unnecessary and could well have the effect of causing a needless delay to the start of the trial,” it said In a 7-page document dated September 28.

The defense said its request is anchored on its concerns regarding the large volume of the evidence disclosed by the Prosecution.

However, the Chamber said that it also issued multiple orders during the third status conference to address concerns regarding the volume of evidence.

Meanwhile, the chamber granted the prosecution’s request for the creation of an URL metadata field to easily identify the URL associated with the open source evidence at the time it was captured.

Duterte’s team has slammed the Prosecution’s disclosure of its evidence in the former official’s crimes against humanity case, saying that it is in a “terrible mess.”

For its part, the Prosecution said the claims were not entirely accurate and was “really exaggerated, in [his] view.”

The defense has also asked the ICC to order the prosecution to limit the number of evidence in the case as this has ballooned by almost 1,000%.

Duterte is facing charges related to crimes against humanity over alleged killings during his time as President and Davao City mayor. He attended his status conference for the first time on September 16.

Duterte was arrested by Philippine authorities in Pasay City and was handed over to the ICC on March 11, 2025.

He was flown via a chartered plane to The Hague, where he will be tried for crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs while he was mayor of Davao City and President of the Philippines.

The trial is scheduled to begin on November 30, 2026. — BAP, GMA News