The gloves are off in The Hague. The International Criminal Court prosecution has turned over a mountain of material to the defense of Rodrigo Duterteโ1,303 pieces of evidence, disclosed over a six-month stretch in 2025. This isnโt symbolic paperwork. The bulk of it points straight at killings tied to the drug war Duterte once owned, defended, and doubled down on.
Hereโs the split: 906 items flagged as incriminating, hundreds more open for defense inspection, and only eight tagged as potentially exculpatory. The contents remain sealed, but the prosecution says the evidence covers deadly barangay operations and executions of so-called โhigh-value targets.โ Translation: this isnโt about policy debatesโitโs about bodies, timelines, and command.
The timing matters. Prosecutors clarified that this batch wonโt be used for the still-unscheduled confirmation hearings, which were pushed back from September. Even so, the disclosure signals momentum. Evidence exchanges are a pressure point at the ICC: they shape strategies, lock narratives, and narrow exits. The message is clearโthis case isnโt stalling; itโs stacking.
Duterte remains detained in Scheveningen, awaiting the next round in a case thatโs no longer abstract. Thousands of pages, recordings, and records now sit with his defense. The fight ahead isnโt about whether the paper existsโitโs about whether it proves who ordered what, when, and why. And on that score, the prosecution just showed its hand.
Image from Mick Tsikas / EPA