THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has partially granted defense motions in the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte, ordering prosecutors to drop one incident from the case while retaining seven others.
In a decision dated Oct. 9, 2026, the three-judge panel—led by Presiding Judge Joanna Korner alongside Judges Keebong Paek and Nicolas Guillou—ruled that seven additional incidents (numbered 50 to 56) will remain part of the trial record.
However, the Chamber ordered the immediate exclusion of “Incident 57,” stating that it fell outside the court’s confirmed temporal scope of July 2016 to July 2017. The judges emphasized that allowing the Prosecution to expand the pre-approved timeline would violate the rights of the accused to be clearly informed of the specific charges against him to properly prepare his defence.
Defence Requests Rejected
While partially granting the motion regarding the charges’ timeframe, the Chamber rejected the Defence’s broader bid to rewrite the formal charges.
The bench clarified that its primary function as a trial chamber is to manage and conduct the trial, not to re-evaluate or overturn prior rulings established by the Pre-Trial Chamber.
The judges noted that the Defence had been provided sufficient notice and details of the allegations to construct its case.
To safeguard fair trial standards, the court explicitly directed that the Defence must be granted adequate time to prepare before any prosecution witnesses testify regarding the newly included incidents (50 to 56).
Prosecution deadline set
Following the directive, the Chamber ordered the ICC Prosecution to update its Trial Brief, List of Witnesses, and List of Evidence by Oct. 16, 2026, to strictly reflect the removal of Incident 57.
The ruling follows Trial Chamber III’s earlier determination declaring the former Philippine president fit to stand trial under continuous medical monitoring, as the court prepares for the formal evidentiary phase.
