The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) granted the request of the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to defer issuing a decision for his interim release.

The decision of the Chamber stated that the request was granted "until further action is undertaken by the Defence on the matter, or until when the Chamber will deem it appropriate."

Based on the procedural history, the defence filed on July 14, 2025 the request, seeking that the Chamber suspended its adjudication of the interim release request until such time as the defense had assembled all information necessary, it added.

Duterte's lawyer filed the urgent request for his interim release last June 12.

However, the request was opposed by the prosecution and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) on June 23 and 25 respectively.

The five-page decision was signed by Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and two other judges on July 23, 2025. Robina Asido/DMS