ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider ICC detention, old age taking toll on Duterte—lawyer

ICC detention, old age taking toll on Duterte—lawyer

Published Sep 9, 2025 01:37 pm
Nicholas Kaufman, lead lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his ICC case (Photo from Alvin & Tourism via Facebook)
Nicholas Kaufman, lead lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his ICC case (Photo from Alvin & Tourism via Facebook)
The lead counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte claimed that his detention in The Hague, Netherlands has taken a toll on his health as he urged the Marcos administration to let the ex-chief executive return to the Philippines.

“The hearing on the confirmation of charges has been postponed, and the reason for this has been disclosed by the judges,” lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said on Tuesday, Sept. 9, a few hours after the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) announced the postponement of the ex-chief executive’s confirmation of charges hearing initially set on Sept. 23.

“Ever since his precipitous and traumatic rendition, the Defence has been struggling with the former President’s progressively deteriorating medical situation which has affected his ability to assimilate the evidence and to give his lawyers proper instructions,” he explained.

He argued that “out of respect” to Duterte’s legacy, he would not have raised a plea for an indefinite adjournment of his hearing if their claims were not supported by “leading medical experts,” including independent medical professionals.

Kaufman said that while the former president is in “good spirits,” his age and his detention in the ICC facility “have taken their toll on him.”

“The Defence sincerely hopes that the current administration, which sought fit to outsource its obligation to afford the former President a fair trial in the country of his birth, will now let him return home to face whatever judicial process is necessary, if at all, with dignity,” he stressed.

On Monday, Sept. 8, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber announced the postponement of the Sept. 23 hearing. Of the three judges, Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera dissented from the majority.

The chamber cited the Aug. 18 filing by Duterte’s defense team requesting for an “indefinite adjournment” of the confirmation of charges because the former president “is not fit to stand trial.”

While it did not give a specific timeline, the Chamber said that it will “issue a scheduling order, including a specific date for and directions regarding the conduct of the hearing on the confirmation of charges, in due course.”

The Rise Up for Life and for Rights and National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), in a separate statement, have expressed the drug war victims’ dismay over the pre-trial chamber’s decision and vowed to “push for the resetting of the hearing soonest, and for any other available remedies.”

The former president, who has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands, has yet to be seen by the public since his first appearance in March before the PTC I to confirm his identity and set the date for the confirmation of charges hearing.

Duterte faces crimes against humanity of murder charges for allegedly architecting his administration’s brutal war on drugs campaign, which killed thousands of mostly impoverished Filipinos.

Related Tags

ICC Rodrigo Duterte Nicholas Kaufman confirmation of charges crimes against humanity
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.