In a scenario once considered unthinkable for a head of state who presided over the public and brutal killings of thousands of civilians, Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, appeared at an International Criminal Court hearing via a video link on Friday.
Mr. Duterte’s arrest this week on charges of crimes against humanity, which came nearly three years after he left office, is a crucial step for Filipinos who have been seeking justice for their loved ones.
The 30-minute hearing in The Hague on Friday was procedural — a court officer informed Mr. Duterte of the charges, and Judge Iulia Motoc read him his rights and set a date for a hearing on Sept. 23 to determine whether the evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to take the case to trial.
But the breadth of the accusations against Mr. Duterte underscored the high stakes of the case in the country he once led.
During Mr. Duterte’s time as mayor of Davao City and as president, officers and vigilantes gunned down tens of thousands of people during what was portrayed as a war on drugs, rights groups said. Some of the victims were minors, and many were not involved in the drug trade, activists say.
Salvador Medialdea, Mr. Duterte’s lawyer, said in court on Friday that Mr. Duterte’s arrest amounted to a “pure and simple kidnapping” and called it “political score settling.”
Mr. Medialdea added that Mr. Duterte — who could be seen over the video link in a blue suit jacket, a blue tie and sitting at times with his eyes closed — was in bad health and that he was “hard of hearing and poor of sight.” Speaking in English, Mr. Duterte told the court his birthday and place of birth.
The lawyer said that Mr. Duterte would apply for temporary release for health reasons before the start of the trial, although they were not specified. Addressing Mr. Duterte, the judge said that she would not ask him to stand up, but added that later the court doctor had found him “fully mentally aware and fit” and that he could follow the proceedings by video link.
The Filipino authorities arrested Mr. Duterte, 79, on Tuesday at Manila’s main airport after he returned from a trip to Hong Kong, days after the I.C.C. issued an arrest warrant that led to his detention by the police in the Philippines.
He was arrested with the help of Interpol, acting on behalf of the I.C.C. because the Philippines is no longer a member of the court. Mr. Duterte was then flown on Wednesday to the Netherlands and was transported to The Hague.
When he ran for president before taking office in 2016, Mr. Duterte vowed to order the police and the military to find drug users and traffickers in order to kill them, promising immunity for those carrying out the orders.
Mr. Duterte had long benefited from a culture of impunity. Until Tuesday, he had seemed all but untouchable despite taking public credit for the widespread violence.
Mr. Duterte’s camp said his detention was illegal, arguing that the I.C.C. had no jurisdiction in the Philippines because the country had withdrawn from the court while he was president.
Judges ruled that the court had jurisdiction because it was investigating crimes that took place while the Philippines was still a member of the I.C.C.
The prosecution has charged Mr. Duterte with large-scale killings, torture and rape that it says occurred between Nov. 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, when the Philippines officially withdrew from the court.
But Mr. Duterte may have been more likely to remain out of the court’s reach had it not been for a time of political upheaval in the Philippines.
When Mr. Duterte’s six-year term ended in 2022, he was succeeded by Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the son of a former dictator. Mr. Marcos ran together with Mr. Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte, the country’s vice president.
That alliance has since fractured, and the two have had a spectacular falling out. Early in his administration, Mr. Marcos had indicated that he would not cooperate with the I.C.C., but in late 2023, his government allowed the court’s investigators to enter the country.
While supporters of Mr. Duterte gathered at his house in Davao City — some lighting candles and periodically chanting his name — dozens of family members of victims of his drug war joined watch parties of the hearing in the Philippines.
“Seeing Duterte face the I.C.C. gives hope for us victims,” said Marilyn Malimban, 51, at a coffee shop in Quezon City. She said her partner was shot by police officers masquerading as civilians in 2016.
“Duterte is feigning weakness,” she said, adding that he did not have the same power over the I.C.C. as he did in his home country. “He can act like a king only in the Philippines.”
The I.C.C. is facing various challenges in trying to convict Mr. Duterte. The court has tried — and several times failed — to convict leaders. The former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was acquitted in 2019 for his role in the country’s post-election violence.
To meet the standard of crimes against humanity — the charge that Mr. Duterte is facing — the prosecution must prove that the violent “war on drugs” campaign was part of a criminal plan led by Mr. Duterte and comprised “a widespread and systematic attack” against civilians in the Philippines.
Ms. Duterte, who was in court in The Hague on Friday, has called the arrest of her father political oppression, while Mr. Marcos has said he is simply following international convention in complying with the Interpol warrant.
Speaking outside the court, she said that Mr. Duterte and his supporters expressed their hope that “they will give us permission to visit the former president.”
In approving Mr. Duterte’s arrest, Mr. Marcos may be trying to eliminate the Dutertes as a political force without any major backlash. (Ms. Duterte is leading polls for the presidential election in 2028.)
Camille Elemia and Aie Balagtas See contributed reporting from the Philippines.
