Metro Manila, Philippines – The International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial judges granted the request of former President Rodrigo Duterte to skip the annual hearing to review his detention.

In a decision on Wednesday, Feb. 25, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said the one-hour hearing will be held on Friday, Feb. 27, in the absence of Duterte, who will be represented by the defense team.

Duterte requested to waive his right to attend the hearing, citing court rules that do not require the suspect to appear in such a proceeding.

ICC rules provide that the detention review hearing must be held at least once every year after the suspect’s initial appearance.

The ICC prosecution, common legal representative of victims, and defense teams will have oral submissions.

Asked to comment on this development, Malacañang said the Marcos administration does not interfere with the proceedings.

The former president is at the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen in The Hague, Netherlands. He was arrested in March 2025 over crimes against humanity for murder charges linked to his bloody war on drugs.

He also waived his right to attend the week-long confirmation of charges hearing, which began Monday, Feb. 23. This is a step to determine if evidence is sufficient to proceed for a full-blown trial.

Duterte said he does not recognize the ICC jurisdiction over him, denying he oversaw a policy of extrajudicial killings, which he said were claims of his political opponents.

In his letter to the court, he said he was “old, tired, and frail,” and has “accepted the fact that I could die in prison.”

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I has deemed Duterte fit to stand pre-trial, based on the conclusions of independent experts on his health and legal competence.

Ahead of the confirmation of charges hearing, ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet told NewsWatch Plus that Duterte was treated “fairly and humanely” at the court’s detention facility, with conditions there meeting international standards.

In November last year, the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected the appeal of Duterte for an interim release.