MANILA(June 29) — Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have approved a prosecution request to freeze the money seized from former president Rodrigo Duterte when he was arrested and surrendered to the tribunal in March 2025, according to newly released court filings.
Public documents made available on Friday show that ICC Trial Chamber III granted the prosecution’s request to preserve “any money that had been seized” from Duterte following his arrest.
Duterte’s legal team had argued that the request was unnecessary, saying the funds were already under the custody of the ICC Registry and that the order “will have no practical impact upon the existing state of affairs.”
The amount of money seized from the former president has not been disclosed.
The newly released filings also reveal that prosecutors are seeking access to other personal items confiscated during Duterte’s arrest as part of their continuing investigation into the crimes against humanity charges he faces.
While the defense said it does not object to prosecutors inspecting some of the seized items, lead defense counsel Peter Haynes urged the judges to deny access to the keys currently held by the ICC Registry.
“The request is, in substance, a fishing expedition,” the defense argued in a submission filed on June 16. It said prosecutors had failed to establish any evidentiary basis linking the keys to the alleged crimes or to assets relevant to the investigation.
“The basis of such a request must exist before the investigation is undertaken, not emerge as a result thereof,” the defense wrote, arguing that prosecutors should not be allowed to examine the keys in the hope of uncovering evidence that could later justify the search.
For the remaining seized items, Duterte’s lawyers asked the court to ensure that prosecutors limit access to personal information belonging to the former president and his family that is unrelated to the case.
The defense also requested that any irrelevant personal information obtained during the inspection be destroyed or permanently deleted “at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The rulings are among the latest pretrial developments as prosecutors continue preparing their case before the ICC, while Duterte’s legal team challenges the scope of the prosecution’s access to evidence obtained during his arrest.
