The fight over the Philippines’ drug war is no longer just playing out in Manila. It now runs through The Hague, where former President Rodrigo Duterte is set to stand trial on crimes against humanity charges starting November 30, and through Washington, where the US has sanctioned the judges who will hear his case.
What the US sanctions actually do
In mid-August, the Trump administration placed International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and a senior prosecution lawyer on a sanctions list that freezes any assets they hold in the United States. Washington has long objected to ICC probes into alleged war crimes committed by US military personnel, and it accuses the Hague-based court of encroaching on state sovereignty.
The ICC itself has called the move a flagrant attack on the court’s independence. Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the tribunal, is not backing down. Appearing online at a Tokyo event on Sunday, she said her convictions will not waver and that she will keep conducting investigations, prosecutions and judicial proceedings as she has until now.
Why this matters for Duterte’s case
The sanctions land at a delicate moment for the ICC’s highest-profile case. Duterte has been in ICC custody since March 2025 on charges tied to his deadly drug war, and his defense team is already fighting to control how the court handles the prosecution’s evidence. In a recent filing, his lawyers said the volume of material has ballooned past 25,000 items and asked the court to require stricter verification of digital and publicly sourced evidence before the trial opens.
The pushback is separate from the Senate proceedings his daughter is facing back home, where some senators want to revisit the vote threshold in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial and she recently faced an arrest warrant over grave-threat charges.
Key facts at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who is on trial | Former President Rodrigo Duterte, crimes against humanity |
| Where | International Criminal Court, The Hague |
| Trial start | November 30, 2026 |
| In ICC custody since | March 2025 |
| Evidence disclosed | More than 25,000 items and counting |
| US action | Sanctions on ICC President Akane and a senior lawyer, freezing US assets |
| Akane’s response | Vows to continue investigations and proceedings despite the sanctions |
What happens next
Akane’s defiance carries weight for Manila observers because a functioning ICC is the only forum that can hold the former president to account on the drug-war charges. Whether the sanctions actually slow the court’s work, or whether Washington’s pressure is mostly symbolic, should become clearer in the weeks between now and the November trial date. Japan, where Akane is from, has called the sanctions incompatible with the rule of law, but has so far stopped short of direct retaliation.
