FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte has waived his right to physically appear at the first-ever status conference for his crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), scheduled for May 27, 2026.
The development was confirmed after his legal team, led by British barrister Peter Haynes, KC, submitted Duterte’s signed waiver to ICC Trial Chamber III on Monday, May 25.
The submission complied with a strict deadline set by the tribunal’s three-judge panel, which had provisionally granted the defense’s request to excuse the former president on the condition that a signed, written document be placed on record.
” I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, respectfully waive my right to appear before the Trial Chamber on 27 May 2026 at 9:30 and, consequently, instruct my lawyers to address the procedural matters listed on the status conference agenda, and any other matter that may be discussed during the hearing,” the one-page waiver read.
The ICC Trial Chamber III, presided over by Judge Joanna Korner, previously ruled that the mandatory requirement for an accused person to be physically present applies strictly to the actual trial phase. Because status conferences are primarily administrative and organizational in nature, the court allowed the 81-year-old former leader to remain absent.
The May 27 status conference will tackle essential pre-trial logistics, including setting the official commencement date for the actual trial, establishing strict disclosure deadlines for evidence, and determining documentary evidence and the preliminary number of witnesses for the prosecution and the defense.
While the court allowed Duterte to skip this preliminary administrative hearing, it simultaneously upheld an order for his continued detention in The Hague.
In a separate ruling, the Chamber denied a defense motion for interim release, citing that the official confirmation of his charges’ last has heightened the potential risk of flight and obstruction of justice.
