Former Philippine president Duterte’s defence of ill health rejected by International Criminal Court

Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled on Monday that former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about the octogenarian’s health.

Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs when in office, first as the mayor of a southern city and later as president.

Lawyers for the 80-year-old had argued Duterte was in frail health and his condition was deteriorating in the court’s detention unit.

Duterte was arrested in March and was set to appear in court in The Hague in September. That hearing was delayed after a pretrial panel of judges granted “limited postponement” to give the court time to determine “whether Mr. Duterte is fit to follow and participate” in the proceedings.

Following an assessment by a panel of medical experts, judges found that Duterte “is able effectively to exercise his procedural rights and is therefore fit to take part in the pre-trial proceedings.”

The hearing has now been rescheduled for Feb. 23.

The panel included experts in geriatric neurology and psychiatry. According to court filings, Duterte underwent cognitive testing, as well as mental and physical examinations.

Duterte’s lead lawyer, Nick Kaufman, said he was disappointed in the decision and would seek to appeal. The defence was “denied the opportunity to present its own medical evidence and to question, in court, the contradictory findings of professionals selected by the judges,” he said.

Rights groups and families of victims hailed Duterte’s arrest in March. Two organisations supporting the families of suspects killed in Duterte’s crackdown hailed the court’s decision as “a resounding victory for justice and accountability.”

“The ICC’s ruling reaffirms a simple but powerful truth: No one, not even a former head of state, is above the law,” said a joint statement by SENTRO, a labour rights organisation, and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific.

According to a filing last month, ICC prosecutors claim Duterte instructed and authorised “violent acts including murder to be committed against alleged criminals, including alleged drug dealers and users.”

Prosecutors announced in February 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the so-called war on drugs overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.

Judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because the Philippines had withdrawn from the court. Countries can’t “abuse” their right to withdraw from the Rome Statute “by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration,” the September decision says.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.