Metro Manila, Philippines – Lawyers representing victims in the drug war case before the International Criminal Court said US sanctions against the tribunal will not immediately stop proceedings against former President Rodrigo Duterte or derail the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines.
In a statement, lawyers Neri Colmenares and Kristina Conti said rumors that the ICC would close or that Duterte would automatically be released because of pressure from the United States and President Donald Trump were unfounded.
“The International Criminal Court (ICC) will not immediately close nor Rodrigo Roa Duterte be automatically released upon pressure by the United States of America and their President Donald Trump,” they said.
The lawyers said the ICC is not financially supported by the United States and that none of its physical facilities are hosted by the US.
They said the Duterte case and the Philippine situation had been brought before the ICC by multiple entities, including victims of the campaign against illegal drugs, and that the investigation and case had undergone the court’s legal processes.
“We see no direct risk of the sanctions to the proceedings, as the Duterte case moves on to trial stage by end of November 2026,” they said.
The ICC has set the opening of Duterte’s trial on Nov. 30, after judges confirmed three counts of crimes against humanity and committed him to trial in April.
The lawyers also pointed to the ICC’s decision to keep Duterte in detention. The former president’s fitness to stand trial remains subject to an updated assessment by a panel of three independent medical experts.
Colmenares and Conti acknowledged that US sanctions could have an indirect impact if they disrupt the ICC’s institutional operations or financial and communications transactions.
Washington has already imposed sanctions on individual ICC officials, including judges and prosecutors. The Associated Press reported that more than a dozen ICC staff members have been sanctioned.
US President Donald Trump called for ICC member states to withdraw from the court during his Sept. 22 address to the United Nations General Assembly.
The lawyers said withdrawal from the ICC would not take effect immediately, noting that the Rome Statute requires a formal notice period.
They urged ICC member states and non-member states to consider “blocking statutes” to limit the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions.
“Dismantling the ICC only benefits the tyrants, mass murderers, and war criminals,” the lawyers said.
They also called on the Marcos administration to stand with victims of the drug war and oppose what they described as impunity and injustice.
