MANILA – The defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to weigh fresh medical records that they say confirm his “cognitive impairment,” raising doubts about his competency to stand trial.
In a filing titled “Defence Submission of Medical Reports,” lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said the documents were submitted “with urgency” due to their direct bearing on Duterte’s capacity to participate in proceedings.
“The Defence makes this present submission subsequent to its email communication to the Pre-Trial Chamber on 18 July 2025 on the same issue… to provide to the Chamber, and enter into the case record, new medical records that have recently come into its possession… The evaluation – performed by a medical professional whose qualifications are unknown to the Defence – confirm, as long suspected, cognitive impairment,” the document stated.
According to the filing, the evaluation was conducted by a medical professional appointed by the ICC Detention Centre’s medical officer and echoed findings of an earlier May 29, 2025 assessment.
“Indeed, even in an absence of clarity or consensus on aetiology or severity, both medical professionals agree on the existence of the impairment itself,” the defense added.
Kaufman stressed that the impairment has a direct impact on Duterte’s legal defense. “The specific cognitive faculties affected are precisely those required to work on his legal case and with his Defence team,” he said.
The defense also recalled its earlier urgent motion to suspend adjudication on Duterte’s interim release until all medical evaluations, including a neuropsychological assessment, were before the court. “These documents were also at issue in the Defence’s urgent request to suspend adjudication on interim release until Mr Duterte’s medical records – including, inter alia, a neuropsychological evaluation by its proposed expert – were in front of the Chamber,” the filing noted.
The prosecution has previously dismissed the defense’s arguments as “serious unsubstantiated allegations regarding the condition of the client.” But Kaufman countered that the latest findings are credible.
“The new annexed reports quite evidently prove otherwise,” the defense maintained, describing the medical conclusions as “objective and corroborated by the neuropsychologist appointed by the ICCDC itself.”
The defense concluded that the impairment is substantial enough to warrant separate litigation before any confirmation hearing proceeds. The reports were officially entered into the ICC case record on September 29, 2025./PN
