Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team said a report by International Criminal Court (ICC)-accredited medical experts on his fitness to stand trial is expected to be released this week.
Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman told GMA Integrated News that the panel’s findings on the 80-year-old Duterte’s condition may be issued on December 5.
“On the 5th of December, we’re due to receive the panel of experts’ reports, the medical evaluations of the former President. Until then, I’m not really entitled to comment or even suggest what might be contained in those reports because there’s an ongoing litigation,” Kaufman said on the sidelines of the ICC’s 24th Assembly of States Parties.
Kaufman said the defense hopes the evaluation will support their submissions, citing difficulties in working with Duterte due to his health. The team plans to file its reply to the panel’s findings on or before December 12.
The lawyer added that Duterte was “disappointed but hardly surprised” after the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected his request for interim release.
Kaufman said they are also awaiting a ruling on their appeal against the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s dismissal of their jurisdictional challenge. A decision is expected after the court’s judicial recess, with the ICC’s 2026 judicial year opening on January 27.
Following the denial of his renewed appeal, Duterte will remain in detention at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague over the Christmas period. He has been held there since March 12.
Duterte faces charges of **crimes against humanity** in connection with the anti-drug campaign carried out during his presidency and his tenure as Davao City mayor. (ZIA LUNA)
