Manila: There is no need for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to monitor the International Criminal Court's (ICC) pretrial hearing on the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte in connection with his deadly drug war, Malaca±ang said Friday. 'Hindi po kailangang mag-monitor ng Pangulo. Ang sabi nga natin, ang minomonitor po ng Pangulo ay 'yung interes po ng ating bansa (There is no need for the President to monitor. As we said, what the President monitors is the interest of our country),' Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.
According to Philippines News Agency, Castro stressed that whatever happens to ICC's confirmation hearing next week, it would be 'personal' to Duterte. Castro, nevertheless, said Marcos will be updated, since fellow Filipinos are involved in the case. 'Tatandaan po natin na ang mga nagsampa po ng kasong ito ay kapwa nating Filipino. Filipino ang nagsampa ng kaso, nirereklamo ay kapwa nating Filipino (Let us remember that those who filed this case are our fellow Filipinos. The Filipinos who filed the case, the complainants are our fellow Filipinos),' the Palace official said.
'Hindi po imomonitor, pero siyempre kailangan pong maging updated ang Pangulo sa lahat ng nangyayari, dahil mga kapwa Filipino natin ang nasasangkot dito (It will not be monitored, but of course the President needs to be updated on everything that is happening, because our fellow Filipinos are involved in this),' she added. The ICC Prosecutor has asked the Pre-Trial Chamber I to reject Duterte's request to waive his right to appear in his confirmation hearing on Feb. 23.
In a court document dated Feb. 19, the prosecution argued that Duterte is fit, available, and has 'no reasonable cause' to skip the hearing in person. Duterte is facing charges before the ICC in connection with his war on illegal drugs which resulted in the deaths of thousands of suspects during police operations. He has been in the ICC detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands, since his arrest in March 2025.
