ICC medical panel finds Duterte fit to stand trial

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December 19, 2025 | 1:14pm

MANILA, Philippines — After months of debate and legal wrangling over his mental fitness, the medical verdict is in: Rodrigo Duterte can take part in pre-trial proceedings. 

An independent panel of medical experts appointed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously concluded the detained former president is capable of standing trial — the opposite of what Duterte's lawyers argue is his debilitating cognitive impairment.

The findings, revealed in two different court filings released Thursday, December 18, bring the ICC a step closer to resuming long-stalled confirmation hearings against the former president, who was arrested in March earlier this year for crimes against humanity connected to his drug war. 

The court itself has not yet issued an actual ruling on whether the 80-year-old former leader is fit to stand trial. The actual report itself of the panel has also not been made publicly available as of posting.

What was released in court records yesterday were reactions by the ICC prosecution and Duterte's lawyers to the panel's unpublicized assessment, wherein both sides had paraphrased or made direct references to the experts' joint report. 

As expected, Duterte's lawyers had strongly rejected the panel's conclusions, while prosecutors seized on them to push for an immediate resumption of proceedings against Duterte.

Both sides confirm that the panel unanimously found Duterte capable of undergoing pre-trial proceedings.

Defense: Reports contradict each other

Duterte's counsel Nicholas Kaufman argued in a 12-page filing that the panel members reached conflicting conclusions on critical medical questions. This, he says, undermines their joint finding that Duterte is fit for trial.

"The Panel's joint report thus cannot be dispositive," Kaufman wrote, demanding an evidentiary hearing where he can cross-examine the experts about their methodology and conclusions before judges make a final determination. 

"The Defence submits that although the Panel considers Mr Duterte competent for the purpose of the pre-trial proceedings, the means by which each member of the Panel reached his conclusions stridently conflict with those of the others," the filing read. "Such internal inconsistencies undermine the overall weight of the general joint conclusion on fitness."

Specifically, the defense pointed to what it called contradictions among the experts about whether Duterte suffers from underlying medical conditions and the severity of his memory problems. Some experts found evidence of certain conditions while others ruled them out entirely, according to the filing.  

The core dispute centers on Duterte's supposed short-term memory. Even if he can hold basic conversations or recall events from his past, the defense argues he cannot retain and process the kind of complex information needed to participate in ICC proceedings covering thousands of pieces of evidence from a four-year investigation.

Duterte's defense had sought an indefinite delay of all proceedings in August, submitting reports from their own experts saying Duterte suffers cognitive impairment in multiple domains. The court had responded to this by appointing their own independent panel of experts. 

Prosecution: Duterte faking impairment

ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang took the opposite view in a nine-page filing, urging judges to accept the panel's conclusions as authoritative and schedule Duterte's confirmation hearing, which was postponed in September due to the fitness question.

The prosecution also accused Duterte of deliberately underperforming on cognitive tests.

"[It] strongly appears that Mr. Duterte is feigning cognitive impairments in an attempt to avoid a trial on the merits," Niang wrote.

The experts used specialized assessments designed to catch people faking mental problems. One doctor administered a "coin in hand test" — announced as a test for short-term memory but actually a basic assessment "very simple even for an individual with moderate to severe memory impairment." 

Duterte's results on this and other tests led all three panel members to agree he was "an unreliable historian" about his own health, according to the filing.

The experts found that Duterte's subjective complaints about cognitive decline didn't match what they observed during examinations conducted between October and November.

While acknowledging he is "frail and elderly," they concluded he retains the mental capacity to understand the charges and evidence brought against him, grasp the purpose of the proceedings ahead, and instruct his lawyers.

What the panel recommended

The medical panel recommended several measures to help Duterte participate in hearings, including the use of hearing assistance devices and regular breaks during court sessions.

The detention center's medical officer proposed that court sessions last no longer than 1.5 hours each, with hearings capped at four days per week and no more than two consecutive days in court.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber must now decide whether to accept the expert findings, grant the defense request for additional hearings, or take other steps before issuing its ruling on Duterte's fitness to stand trial. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.