Lawyers challenge findings Digong fit to stand trial

Defense lawyers of former president Rodrigo Duterte want the findings of a team of doctors appointed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be voided, after determining that Duterte is medically fit to participate in his trial.

The lawyers said the medical report is filled with contradictions and failed to address the claim that he is unable to meaningfully interact with his counsel.

According to his counsel, Duterte may understand the nature of the proceedings but his short-term memory is impaired. He is incapable of following hearings, assessing evidence, or providing consistent instructions to his lawyers.

The defense said, “Mr Duterte’s short-term memory is demonstrably impacted.” His instructions to counsel allegedly change from day to day because he cannot retain information. 

Duterte’s mental fitness to stand trial was first raised in July 2025 when his lawyers sought a status conference that was opposed by prosecutors and rejected by the chamber. In August, the defense sought an indefinite adjournment of proceedings, citing findings from its own medical experts and a neuropsychologist linked to the ICC Detention Centre. The judges instead ordered further examination and formed an independent panel of experts, whose joint and individual reports were transmitted to the parties on Dec. 5.

While the panel determined Duterte competent to take part in pre-trial proceedings, the defense argued this joint conclusion should not be treated as decisive. It said the experts agreed Duterte was frail, elderly and provides unreliable history of his own health. The defense pointed out disagreements among the experts on the causes, severity and implications of his cognitive deficits, particularly with respect to short-term and working memory.

The filing also faulted the panel for allegedly failing to integrate observations from ICC Detention Centre staff, who reported repeated forgetfulness in Duterte’s daily interactions, and for not adequately considering his multiple co-morbid medical conditions that could affect cognition.

The defense also criticized one expert for applying what it described as an incorrect and lower evidentiary standard for assessing fitness, a standard previously rejected by ICC judges in earlier cases. It warned that this error could have influenced not only that expert’s conclusions but also the panel’s joint position.

Duterte’s lawyers maintained the central issue was not whether he could engage superficially in proceedings, but whether he could retain and process information in real time and communicate coherent, informed instructions — capacities they said were essential for complex confirmation of charges hearings involving thousands of items of evidence.

The defense asked the chamber to convene an evidentiary hearing to allow the parties to question the experts on their methodologies, findings and conclusions before the ICC judges rule on Duterte’s fitness. They said such hearings are standard practice in international criminal tribunals.