Former President Rodrigo Duterte is set to appear for the first time before the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, March 14, at 14:00 (The Hague time).
During the hearing, Duterte will face the judges, who will inform him of the crimes he is accused of and made aware of his rights as a defendant under the Rome Statute.
He is suspected of murder, qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 2011 and March 2019, during which time he served as Mayor of Davao City, President, and reportedly as the head of the Davao Death Squad (DDS).
Under his presidency, he spearheaded the contentious campaign against illegal drugs, which has been linked to thousands of killings, frequently referred to as extrajudicial killings.
The Pre-Trial Chamber I is composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, along with Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera.
Duterte was taken into custody by authorities on Tuesday upon landing at NAIA Terminal 3 in Manila from Hong Kong.
He was subsequently placed in government custody at Villamor Air Base, where he remained before being flown to The Hague in the Netherlands to stand trial for the charges filed against him.
Malacañang previously stated that Interpol Manila received the official ICC warrant just hours before Duterte's return to the country, which led the Prosecutor General of the Department of Justice to execute it.
