The family of former President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday that they accept the ruling of the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber, which upheld the denial of his request for interim release.
“The family accepts the ICC Appeals Chamber’s decision with peaceful hearts. We will continue to work with the defense team on the case and will keep supporting Former President Rodrigo Duterte with our daily conversations. We thank everyone who prayed with us today,” the Duterte family said in a brief statement.
Their acceptance came as the ICC Appeals Chamber delivered its judgment on November 28, confirming the earlier findings of Pre Trial Chamber I that Duterte must remain in ICC custody.
The chamber said it was rejecting the “appeal of Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte” and was affirming the “decision of Pre Trial Chamber I of 26 September 2025 regarding the request for Mr Duterte’s interim release.”
The appeals judges said the Defence failed to show errors in the earlier ruling. The Pre Trial Chamber had found that Duterte’s detention “remained necessary pursuant to article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute” and that the conditions offered for release were not enough to reduce the risks identified by the court.
It also rejected the claim that humanitarian reasons should justify his release.
The Appeals Chamber said it reviewed all three grounds of appeal and rejected them. It found that the Defence “failed to identify errors in the Pre Trial Chamber’s reasoning or to demonstrate that the Pre Trial Chamber’s conclusions were unreasonable.”
The ICC said a “warrant of arrest against Mr Duterte was issued by the Chamber as ‘Secret’ on March 7, 2025 and reclassified as ‘Public’ on March 11, 2025.” Duterte was surrendered to the court on March 12, 2025 after his arrest by Philippine authorities. He is suspected of “crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder” linked to alleged killings between November 2011 and March 2019.
The confirmation of charges hearing, first set for September 23, 2025, was postponed by the court on September 8, 2025.
