Timeline for ICC Case of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte Out
ICC – The International Criminal Court released the significant dates over the case of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is currently detained in the Hague Penitentiary Institution for more than a month now. The former Philippine President is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity before the foreign court due to the accusations surrounding his administration’s war on drugs.
Back in the Philippines, the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is a controversial matter. Hearings were held in the Senate to investigate the unexpected turn of events last March 11. Sen. Imee Marcos led the inquiries.
However, former Pres. Duterte’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña, is not convinced by the sincerity of Sen. Imee Marcos’ probe on the arrest of the former President. She tagged it as an alleged gimmick. Avanceña is in The Hague now.
Last March 15, Duterte appeared before the pre-trial chamber of the ICC. The next phase of his pre-trial is set on September 23 which is still five (5) months away from now. Ahead of the said trial, there are significant dates marked by the ICC in line with the case of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Both Duterte’s camp and the prosecution are currently preparing for the confirmation of charges set on September 23. With regards to the deadlines and the significant dates set by the ICC over the case, based on a report on Inquirer, here is the timeline:
March 21, 2021: The Chamber sought and indicated deadlines for observations from the parties and participation on various matters related to the conduct of the proceedings.
April 2, 2025: The Registry filed its observation on victims’ participation to the proceedings.
April 4, 2025: The Prosecution filed submissions on the conduct of proceedings.
April 7, 2025: The camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte responded to the observations on the participation of the victims to the proceedings.
April 8, 2025: The Duterte camp responded to the Prosecution’s submissions on the conduct of proceedings.
April 30, 2025: The deadline for the prosecution to disclose evidence by categorizing it in the following themes:
- 1. contextual elements
- 2. each alleged crime
- 3. each alleged mode of liability
May 2, 2025: The deadline set by the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for the Prosecution’s observation on the three evidentiary themes.
May 9, 2025: The prosecution must submit applications to withhold the identity of witnesses by this date.
July 1, 2025: The Prosecution needs to complete the disclosure process no later than July 1. This includes all the evidence it intends to. They must also submit the number of witnesses against the former President not later than May 9, 2025.
May 23, 2025: The deadline set in case the Prosecution wants to submit requests for redactions, non-disclosure of witnesses’ identities, or non-disclosure of entire items of evidence.
This is the same deadline for the Prosecution to conclude the risk assessments and implementation of measures to protect witnesses and persons at risk.
July 1, 2025: The Prosecution must complete the disclosure process not later than July 1. This is inclusive of all the evidence it intends to use at the confirmation of charges, including the totality of the witness statements and translations.
July 9, 2025: Should any issue arise from the disclosure of evidence, the parties should raise the matter through a formal filing not later than July 9.
July 16, 2025: The parties can bring any challenge to Documents Containing Charges (DCC) by way of a formal filing which should be submitted not later than July 16.
July 24, 2025: The deadline set for the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to respond to the questions raised by the Chamber in an order dated March 21, including whether he plans to present evidence during the Confirmation of Charges, and what kind of pieces of evidence.
August 20, 2025: The Prosecution’s deadline in case it intends to amend the charges as stated under Rule 121 (4) of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence. This rule requires that any amendment to the charges should be submitted 15 days before the confirmation hearing together with a list of evidence. This is so to give the defense, in this case Duterte, adequate preparation time.
September 5, 2026: Based on the report, this is the deadline set for the camp of Duterte to respond in case the Prosecution intends to amend the charges.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte finalized the ICC legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte and head home to the Philippines. Recently, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte endorsed Sen. Imee Marcos amid the political turmoil in the country.
