Overview
- Preliminary proceedings began in The Hague on February 23 to assess potential charges tied to Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016–2022 anti-drug campaign.
- The prosecution alleged Duterte authorized killings and personally selected some targets during the crackdown.
- The court granted a defense request waiving Duterte’s presence, and he did not appear at the opening session.
- Duterte has been held at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen since his March 2025 arrest in Manila and transfer to the Netherlands.
- The ICC maintains jurisdiction over alleged offenses through 2019 despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the court that year.