Duterte’s ICC detention could be lengthy, based on other detainees’ stays

One year into his detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC), former president Rodrigo Duterte is just getting started on a process that could keep him away from the Philippines for several more years — that is, if the case proceeds to trial.

Historically, the process for his fellow ICC detainees has lasted five to eight years, which makes Duterte’s stay only 15% to 20% of the way, so far.

He was arrested in the Philippines on March 11, 2025, and transferred to the ICC detention center in The Hague the following day. For this report, his time in The Hague serves as the benchmark for calculations.

The ICC proceedings marked a rare moment of accountability for the drug war that unfolded with little consequence for those who carried it out. 

Official government data records at least 6,200 deaths in police operations alone. Human rights groups estimate the toll could reach 30,000 when killings by unidentified gunmen or suspected vigilantes are included.

Duterte, the ICC newcomer

Duterte’s 365 days in detention so far represent only a small fraction of the time served by other current detainees at the ICC.

For example, former Mali Islamic Police senior member Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz has been in ICC custody for 2,903 days or almost eight years.

This means that he has spent nearly eight times longer in a cell than the former Philippine president. In fact, Duterte’s first year in detention accounts for only 12.6% of the time Al Hassan has spent behind bars so far.

Al Hassan was first transferred to The Hague on March 31, 2018, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and was convicted on June 26, 2024. He remains detained in the Netherlands pending transfer to an ICC member-state where he will serve his sentence. 

Even Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, who has the shortest time detained at the ICC at 1,873 days so far, has still served more than five times the duration of Duterte’s current stay.

The former high-ranking militia commander was transferred to The Hague on January 24, 2021, and is facing charges for crimes against humanity and war crimes that happened in the Central African Republic. 

These figures highlight the long road ahead for Duterte’s case. If his trajectory follows that of his ICC “neighbors,” most of whom are still in detention after five to eight years, his current 365 days may eventually be seen as just the opening chapter of a much longer period.

Slower pace pre-confirmation of charges 

It took a total of 348 days from Duterte’s first day in ICC detention on March 12, 2025, to the confirmation of charges hearing on February 23, 2026. 

Duterte’s wait between start of detention and confirmation of charges ranks the third longest among the six other people detained at the ICC. His timeline is nearly identical to Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, who waited 349 days. The two are surpassed only by Al Hassan, who waited for 464 days.

The former Philippine president’s pace appears relatively slow compared to the rest. He took longer to reach the start of confirmation of charges hearing than Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona (239 days), Mahamat Said Abdel Kani (261 days), and Alfred Yekatom (306 days). 

It is hard to pinpoint exactly the reason why this period dragged on for so long. Looking at developments, however, show that Duterte’s defense team, led by lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, has filed a series of legal challenges that effectively paused the procedural clock for several months. 

“We’ve seen how the original date of the confirmation of charges hearing has been delayed or postponed because of the fitness to stand trial challenge brought by the defense,” ICC assistant to counsel and international law expert Ross Tugade told Rappler. “That made some some impact on the timeline.”

Kaufman filed in August 2025 a motion to stop the proceedings on the basis that Duterte is not fit to stand trial. The ICC pre-trial chamber, which earlier scheduled the confirmation of charges to begin on September 23, decided to postpone it.

A panel of independent medical experts were appointed and they eventually declared Duterte fit in January 2026, but the process alone added nearly five months of delay to the schedule. The pre-trial hearings finally began on February 23, 2026. 

The health-related motions are on top of the defense team’s move to persistently challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction. Kaufman also filed multiple applications for interim release, all of which have been rejected so far, with the latest on March 6. 

Long detention ahead

The hearing to confirm the charges against Duterte concluded on February 27. The court’s pre-trial chamber now has 60 days since that date to decide whether the case will proceed to a full trial. This means a decision can be expected on or before April 28, 2026. 

If the case goes to trial, Duterte faces a daunting precedent as the other suspects endured several months before the actual start of the trial, and several years more for it to end. 

On average, the trial period alone took at least three years.

Yekatom and Ngaïssona, for example, spent 1,395 days — almost four years — in the trial phase alone, and another 244 days between end of the trial and the court’s decision. They are still detained as they await decisions on their appeals. 

Al Hassan even waited for an additional 545 days after his trial ended to receive a decision and subsequent sentencing. 

Can Kaufman mirror what he did during the pre-trial phase? Tugade points to Article 19 Paragraph 4 of the Rome Statute, the governing legal document of the ICC.

“A challenge may still be brought at a time later than the commencement of the trial but it must be done first under exceptional circumstances and that leave of court must be sought by the party trying to pose the challenge to the jurisdiction of the court,” she said.

Supporters and allies of Duterte continue to call for his release, eager to bring their “tatay” home. But the year he has already spent in ICC detention is likely just the beginning of a long road ahead, if the case reaches trial. – Rappler.com