The trial of Rodrigo Roa Duterte, former president of the Philippines, will open on Nov. 30, 2026, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the court announced Monday.
Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and attempted murder, under article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute. The alleged crimes were committed as part of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians in the Philippines between Nov. 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.
The charges include murder in Davao City between 2013 and June 2016 during Duterte’s mayoral tenure (Count 1), murder of “High-Value Targets” across the Philippines during his presidency from July 2016 to July 2017 (Count 2), and murder and attempted murder related to barangay clearance operations from July 2016 to September 2018 (Count 3).
The trial will begin with hearings to ensure Duterte understands the charges and to record his plea. The Prosecution and Common Legal Representatives of the Victims (CLRVs) are allocated six and three hours, respectively, for opening statements. The first Prosecution witness will testify after the opening statements conclude.
Trial Chamber III, composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek, and Judge Nicolas Guillou, will oversee proceedings to ensure fairness.
The hearings will be available via webstream with a 30-minute delay on the ICC’s website, Facebook, and YouTube channels.