By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has approved the prosecution’s request to freeze cash confiscated from former President Rodrigo Duterte during his arrest in March 2025, while his legal team continues to challenge efforts to gain broader access to his personal belongings.
The ruling, contained in a court document made public on June 26, granted prosecutors authority to preserve any money seized when Duterte was taken into ICC custody and ordered the court’s Registry to submit a complete inventory of all items obtained during his arrest.
“The Trial Chamber granted the Prosecution’s request to freeze any money that had been seized and further ordered the Registry to provide an inventory of the items obtained from Mr. Duterte upon his arrest,” the court document stated.
The decision, however, did not disclose the amount of money confiscated from the former Philippine leader.
Duterte’s defense counsel, Peter Haynes, had earlier urged the tribunal to reject the prosecution’s request, arguing that freezing the seized cash was both unnecessary and without practical value.
In the same filing, Duterte’s lawyers strongly objected to the prosecution’s separate request to examine a collection of keys seized during his arrest and now under the custody of the ICC Registry.
Prosecutors sought access on June 9 to several items recovered from Duterte, including “all keys” held by the Registry.
The defense described the request as legally unsupported, insisting that prosecutors failed to establish any connection between the keys and the crimes under investigation or any assets potentially linked to the case.
“The request is, in substance, a fishing expedition,” the defense argued, stressing that prosecutors admitted they do not know what the keys open and are merely seeking permission to inspect them in hopes of uncovering evidence.
According to Duterte’s legal team, investigative requests should be supported by an existing factual basis rather than being used to search for possible evidence after the fact.
The defense likewise asked the Trial Chamber to require prosecutors to submit any additional requests for access to Registry-held materials no later than June 30, 2026.
Duterte remains in ICC custody while facing three counts of crimes against humanity arising from his administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Government records place the death toll from the controversial campaign at more than 6,000 people, while human rights organizations estimate that the number of fatalities exceeded 30,000, including minors.
The ICC proceedings continue as both the prosecution and the defense contest the scope of evidence and materials that may be used during the trial.
ia/xf
