The International Criminal Court (ICC) Monday kicked off a week of hearings to judge whether former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte should stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity over his "war on drugs."
The 80-year-old was not present in the courtroom in the Hague, having waived his right to appear. His defense team has argued his memory is failing and he is not fit to attend proceedings.
The court will decide whether to move forward to a full trial within 60 days of the hearings.
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018.
The true number of killings during his campaign in the Philippines is thought to be in the thousands, and lawyers for the victims have argued that a full trial could encourage many more families to come forward.
Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in Manila in March last year, flown to the Netherlands and has since been held at the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison.
He followed his initial hearing three days later by video link, appearing dazed and frail and barely speaking.
The case comes with the ICC facing intense political pressure, including two rounds of US sanctions imposed since June 2025.
The Philippines left the ICC in 2019, on Duterte's instructions, but the court has ruled that it still has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed there between 2011 and 2019.
