Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team has filed a motion before the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking the disqualification of two court-appointed neuropsychologists assigned to assess the former leader’s mental and neurological state.
In documents made public this week, the defense requested that the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I revoke the appointment of two specialists who served on a three-member panel of medical experts designated to evaluate Duterte’s fitness to stand trial. The panel was tasked with determining whether Duterte is capable of exercising his rights to a fair trial amid charges of murder as a crime against humanity in connection with his administration’s anti-drug campaign.
The first motion, dated November 7 but released only on Tuesday, revealed that Duterte’s lawyers called for the immediate removal of a female neuropsychologist due to her “active and ongoing suspension” from her medical practice. The defense alleged that the suspension—upheld multiple times by a professional regulatory body—was not disclosed to the ICC Registry, which maintains the official list of approved medical experts.
“An expert suspended by a domestic regulatory board and who displays open contempt for judicial proceedings should not be permitted to provide expertise at the ICC,” the defense stated in its filing.
Following this, the ICC reportedly revoked the appointment of the suspended female expert and replaced her with a male neuropsychologist. However, Duterte’s camp swiftly moved to have the replacement doctor removed as well, citing what they described as “sickeningly offensive” tweets he had posted last year.
The defense submitted screenshots of the alleged tweets, asserting that the posts demonstrated “a manifest lack of professionalism, respectability, and suitability” to serve as an ICC-appointed expert. The contents of the tweets were redacted in the public record, but the defense emphasized that their tone and language were “offensive, inappropriate, and unprofessional.”
“The court must draw the line between protected personal expression and safeguarding its reputation from being associated with such bias and vulgarity,” Duterte’s lawyers wrote.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber has yet to rule on the motions, which come amid heightened scrutiny of the tribunal’s ongoing investigation into Duterte’s controversial “war on drugs,” estimated to have resulted in thousands of deaths during his presidency.