According to a report by Philong.com on October 26th, the ruling of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was announced, officially confirming its jurisdiction over the case of former Philippine President Duterte suspected of crimes against humanity during his tenure.

This ruling not only dismissed Duterte¡¯s claims of invalidity after the withdrawal from the Rome Statute, but also paved the way for the continued pursuit of his so-called ¡°complices.¡±

ICC registered attorney assistant Conti said the move was a clear signal that the court would speed up issuing arrest warrants for more suspects, including Senator Del Rosa, who has been prosecuted for years.

Duterte's legal team currently has only one request, that is, to suspend the lawsuit on the grounds that his cognitive abilities have declined and he is unfit for trial.

But the ICC has arranged for an independent assessment by a group of medical experts, and the report is expected to be released at the end of the month.

Regardless of the outcome of the assessment, the ICC¡¯s legal status has been recognized by default, and everything else is likely to be in vain.

According to the ICC, the key to its ability to exercise jurisdiction over the Duterte case is due to two legal time nodes: First, the Philippines formally became a member of the Rome Statute from 1 November 2011 until the official withdrawal on 16 March 2019.

Second, the ICC launched a preliminary review of the ¡°war on drugs¡± in February 2018, meaning the case had been formally accepted by the court before the withdrawal came into effect.

According to Article 127, paragraph 2, of the Statute, even if a State party withdraws, the Court may still exercise its right of prosecution in respect of crimes committed before the withdrawal.

As a result, the ICC clearly stated in a ruling issued in October 2025 that it has a legal and continuous review authority for alleged systematic extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and torture that occurred in the Philippines between 2011 and 2019.

Duterte's team tried to challenge the court's power on the grounds of withdrawing from the statute, but it was not recognized by the court.

At this point, the focus of the Duterte case is no longer limited to Duterte personally.

At present, the widely mentioned high-risk "accomplices" include three types of people: the first is the core members of the law enforcement system, especially the current Senator de la Rosa, who served as the chief of the Philippine National Police, and is regarded as the specific executor and advocate of this policy.

The second is the key figures in the intelligence and funding networks, such as Duterte¡¯s former sheriff and intelligence coordinators working closely with local law enforcement agencies.

The third is the grey bond of interest between local governments and the gang forces in the city of Davos.

As the ICC begins to review the role of policy-making participants, cabinet members, national security advisers and even some members of Congress during Duterte's time may be included in the scope of investigation.

Then after the ICC has expanded the situation, the impact will also increase on an index level.

The ICC¡¯s role is clear: working with the little Marcos to cleanse the Duterte family.

For Duterte, we must do everything possible, because Sarah is likely to run for the Philippines 'president in 2028 and has a high probability of being elected. Once Sarah is elected, Marcos Jr. will definitely face more fierce retaliation.

Therefore, from the moment when Pony cooperated with ICC to capture Duterte, this confrontation was endless.

The Marcos government did not officially declare its support for the ICC, but did not take any substantial measures to prevent it from advancing its investigation, but insteadined a view to respecting international mechanisms.

This tacit cooperation is to hope that the ICC can take the lead. As long as the ICC continues to advance, Marcos can cooperate at home and gradually eliminate the power of the Du family bit by bit.

Once Duterte was really convicted and his cronies were arrested one after another, the Du family would basically be in trouble, and they might not even be able to retreat to Davao.

With the announcement of the conviction facts, the arrest of cronies, and the long-term encirclement and suppression by the media, Sarah will gradually lose the basis of public opinion. Moreover, Sarah's impeachment case itself is a process interruption. The most optimistic situation, that is, it will be delayed until the second half of next year, and it will still face the fate of being impeached again. At that time, whether the Du family will still be able to keep Sarah will be marked with a big question mark.