Christmas in The Hague

By Artchil B. Fernandez

The quixotic dream of Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS), which is for their cult-god to come home, will not come true — at least for now. Rodrigo Duterte is spending his Christmas in The Hague.

Last month, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague upheld the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I refusing to grant Duterte’s request for an interim release. The Pre-Trial Chamber I found that releasing Duterte poses a risk to witnesses, evidence, and the integrity of the investigation.

Lawyers of Duterte elevated their case to the Appeals Chamber, hoping for a reversal of the Pre-Trial Chamber I decision. The five-member Appeals Chamber, in a unanimous decision, rejected Duterte’s request for an interim release. The decision is final, since the Appeals Chamber is the court of last resort in the ICC.

The camp of Duterte claimed that the Pre-Trial Chamber I made a mistake when it denied their appeal for an interim release. The Appeals Chamber, however, said it saw no error in the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I, which found that Duterte remains a risk to those involved in the case. “After examining the arguments raised in the appeal brief, the Appeals Chamber found that the Defence failed to identify errors in the Pre-Trial Chamber’s reasoning or to demonstrate that the Pre-Trial Chamber’s conclusions were unreasonable.”

Three issues were raised by Duterte’s lawyers before the Appeals Chamber for the reversal of the lower court’s ruling. First, the defense lawyers argued that “the Pre-Trial Chamber erroneously found that the former president poses a risk. Second, the Pre-Trial Chamber erred in its rejection of the guarantees proposed by the State willing to receive him. Third, the Pre-Trial Chamber I wrongly ruled by failing to take into account humanitarian considerations in assessing the right to interim release.”

All three arguments of Duterte were rejected by the Appeals Chamber. On the issue of flight risk, the Appeals Chamber ruled that “Access to international contacts could provide the means to enable a suspect to abscond, whether or not there was evidence that the suspect would actually utilize such contacts.” On the second issue, the ruling said that “the risks it had identified could not be mitigated by the proposed conditions,” making information on guarantees from the host country unnecessary.

The humanitarian argument was also discarded by the Appeals Chamber. It “found the existence of risks under Article 58(1)(b) of the statute which were not mitigated by Mr. Duterte’s purported condition, and also could not be mitigated by any condition imposed upon release.” The humanitarian grounds “were not sufficiently set out in the case at hand,” it added.

Failing to convince the Appeals Chamber for an interim release, the Duterte camp tried another way for him to escape trial and regain his freedom. This time, they attempted to use the “mental decline” card. They claimed that at 80 years old, Duterte is too “cognitively impaired” to undergo trial. The Pre-Trial Chamber appointed an independent panel of medical experts to examine the former strongman.

From Oct. 8 to Nov. 18, 2025, three different physicians interviewed, examined, and assessed Duterte. Last week, the report of the independent panel of medical experts was submitted to the ICC. The panel unanimously found that Duterte is fit to undergo trial. “Upon completion of their assessments, panel members individually reached the same overall conclusion that, while frail and elderly, Mr. Duterte nevertheless possesses the necessary capacities to meaningfully exercise his procedural and fair trial rights,” the report read. Furthermore, the report said that “These findings are clear and unanimous, and should be relied upon [by] the Chamber as authoritative, to determine that Mr. Duterte is fit to stand trial.”

The findings of the medical experts confirm what everyone suspects — Duterte is feigning “cognitive impairment” to avoid trial and get off the hook. His acting failed. The experts utilized several specialized assessments to spot faking of mental problems, which included a “coin in hand” test, a test for short-term memory, and a basic assessment for the moderately and severely mentally impaired. They concluded that Duterte is “an unreliable historian” of his own health.

There is no one to blame for the legal setbacks of the elder Duterte but the Dutertes themselves and their supporters. They have demonstrated, through their vulgar display of power and public flaunting of their influence, that the Duterte patriarch should be kept confined to his cell in The Hague. Duterte winning as mayor of Davao is evidence of his clout and public sway, putting witnesses and the families of “tokhang” victims in danger.

Insisting and asserting that the elder Duterte was kidnapped by the ICC and refusing to recognize its authority only strengthened the belief of the tribunal that he is a flight risk. If the Dutertes do not recognize the authority of the ICC, why would they allow their patriarch to be tried by the court? Once released, it’s “goodbye” ICC. Unfortunately for the Dutertes, the ICC has seen through their charade and deception.

Christmas Day came and went. Rodrigo Duterte remains detained in The Hague. The holiday wish of DDS is unfulfilled. Their cult-god stays in detention. Next year, his trial for crimes against humanity will likely happen.

Every trick in the book is being tried and tested by the Dutertes to thwart his trial and set him free. So far, their tricks have epically failed. Victims of the bloody and gory war against illegal drugs will eventually get justice. Rodrigo Duterte will have his just deserts. He will probably spend the rest of his life in The Hague, not just Christmas.