Colmenares, Conti confident ICC will confirm charges vs Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares and human rights lawyer Kristina Conti are confident that the International Criminal Court (ICC) will also confirm the charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte next week in connection with his administration’s bloody war on drugs.

The human rights lawyers said this following the Appeals Chamber’s rejection of his jurisdiction appeal on Wednesday.

Colmenares and Conti accompanied the families of the drug war victims as they witnessed the ICC decision on the former leader’s appeal regarding his crimes against humanity case.

READ: ICC has jurisdiction over Duterte case, Appeals Chamber affirms

After the ICC denied all four grounds of Duterte’s jurisdiction plea, Colmenares said he is “99.99 percent sure” that the international court would also confirm the charges against Duterte.

“It is impossible for the Court to believe President Duterte’s argument that there is no common plan, I did not order it, it was just a fabrication by the police, by the criminals, he left his police force high and dry, the court will not believe it,” Colmenares said.

Colmenares also urged other victims of extrajudicial killings to come forward and participate in the ICC case, especially during the expected proceedings.

“Now that the jurisdiction is confirmed and there will be a trial, maybe it’s time for all the victims of extrajudicial killings to come forward and pursue the case at the ICC. The ICC has jurisdiction, all the victims should come forward and unite so that Duterte can be held accountable,” he said.

READ: Drug war victims’ kin gather for ICC decision on Duterte’s plea

For her part, Conti said that, compared to this Wednesday’s jurisdiction appeal, she was more confident the ICC decision on the confirmation of charges hearing would favor them.

“If I was confident coming into this hearing, I would be more confident that the outcome of [next week’s] confirmation of charges decision would be positive. Because that decision will be based on facts, not just the law,” Conti told the INQUIRER.

“The recent decision was more legalistic, more like we were talking about laws, and there were a lot of twists and turns. But next week, if the decision is about the truth, meaning what really happened, I don’t see any other outcome other than having evidence to continue with the trial,” she added.

‘We wish him all the best’

When asked about her take on the health of the 81-year-old former president while under the jurisdiction of the ICC as the case proceeds, Conti said “we wish him all the best.”

“It is important for us that this process gets done, that the hearings continue. And there should be participation. In fact, he is front and center here, in this hearing. That’s why we are supporting him,” Conti said.

“Our only request is for him to appreciate those who support him, who keep on asking, ‘“’How are you?’”

The human rights lawyer likewise noted that they believe Duterte is being well taken care of while under ICC custody.

“As we understand, the ICC and the Netherlands provide the highest standard of care among all their jurisdictions, let’s establish that. And even their prisons are regarded as first-rate. For them, just being passable (when it comes to standards) is not enough. And so their prisons there are not what we have here in the Philippines,” Conti said.

“So we are confident that he is well taken care of. And if he loses weight, maybe that is under the advice of the nutritionist. And whatever condition he may experience, he can be addressed by health professionals 24/7, with round-the-clock care,” she added.

Duterte did not appear before the reading of the ruling on his jurisdiction appeal this Wednesday after he requested to skip it without citing reasons.

The former president, likewise, did not show up during the series of confirmation of charges hearings last February.

It was in March 2025 when Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and brought to the ICC headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, to face allegations of crimes against humanity in connection with the war on drugs of his administration.

Around 12,000 to 30,000 individuals were killed during Duterte’s bloody drug war, as per the investigation by then-ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. /cb /atm