Victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s fake war on drugs welcomed the International Criminal Court’s final dismissal of his appeal to quash the hearing of his cases. The petition stemmed from the argument that the Philippines is no longer an ICC member and thus lacks jurisdiction over cases that occurred in the country.

The Appeals Chamber’s majority decision on April 22 affirmed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s initial decision on October 23, 2025, which dismissed the petition. The ruling stands final: the ICC holds jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, primarily murder, that occurred between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, amid Duterte’s “war on drugs.”

The court deemed Duterte’s petition arguments “unpersuasive.” Relatedly, his petition for release also lost its basis.

The Appeals Chamber ruled that the hearing on the jurisdiction appeal does not affect the ongoing process. This means the PTC 1 can now proceed directly to deciding whether to confirm or not the three crimes against humanity cases against Duterte.

The confirmation hearing on the charges against Duterte took place from February 23 to 27 in The Hague. The PTC 1 is expected to issue its decision possibly on or before April 28.