Malacañang responded calmly to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team challenging the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his arrest, saying the process is now in the hands of the international tribunal.
“If that is their defense, then it’s part of due process. Let them be. The ICC will decide how to respond,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said during a briefing.
Duterte’s lawyers filed a formal challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction, dated May 1, 2025, asserting that the court lacked the authority to investigate the Philippines when it authorized a probe in September 2021. The submission, led by his legal team including Nicholas Kaufman and Prof. Dr. Dov Jacobs, seeks Duterte’s immediate release.
The former president was arrested on March 11 and flown to The Hague, where he remains in detention at the Hague Penitentiary Institution on charges of crimes against humanity related to the drug war.
The ICC has scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing for September 23, 2025.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier affirmed the legality of Duterte’s arrest, stating that the government simply followed its obligations under Interpol agreements.