THE HAGUE (AP) — Rodrigo Duterte, the former Philippine president facing murder charges at the International Criminal Court, notified the court on Feb. 18 that he will skip the confirmation of charges hearing set for Feb. 23 to 27. His lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, submitted the six-page document to the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber.

“I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, wish to waive my right to attend the hearing on the confirmation of charges currently fixed for 23-27 February 2026,” Duterte wrote in the letter. He added that he fully understands the consequences after discussions with his legal team and trusts them to contest the prosecution’s evidence in his absence.

Duterte explicitly declined to follow the proceedings remotely. “I do not wish to follow these proceedings from outside the courtroom through the use of communications technology,” he stated. An original signed waiver remains with his lawyers, according to the filing.

The 79-year-old leader, detained since his arrest on March 11, 2025, in a prison complex in Scheveningen, Netherlands, described his transfer to The Hague as a kidnapping. “I am a Filipino citizen forcibly pushed into a jet and renditioned to The Hague in the Netherlands in flagrant contravention of my country’s Constitution and of national sovereignty,” Duterte wrote. He accused the office of current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of facilitating the operation with a chartered plane.

Duterte faces three counts of murder as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator in a common plan that prosecutors say led to thousands of brutal killings of drug suspects during his 2016-2022 presidency. For the first time since entering ICC custody, he directly rebutted the accusations. The claim that he oversaw a policy of extrajudicial killings amounts to an “outrageous lie,” he said, pinning it on his political critics.

Health concerns factored heavily into his decision. Duterte called himself “old, tired and frail,” predicting he might forget proceedings within minutes. “I do not wish to attend legal proceedings that I will forget within minutes. I wish for this Court to respect my peace inside the cell it has placed me,” he wrote. He has come to terms with dying in prison.

Philippine officials withdrew from the ICC in 2019, a move Duterte supported, arguing the court had no authority over crimes committed after that date. Prosecutors contend the court’s jurisdiction covers crimes from Nov. 1, 2011, when the Philippines ratified the Rome Statute. Duterte’s supporters in Manila have rallied against his detention, labeling it a violation of sovereignty.

The hearing next week will determine if sufficient evidence exists to proceed to trial. Kaufman plans to argue against the prosecution’s case without Duterte present. ICC officials confirmed receipt of the waiver but offered no immediate comment on its implications.

Duterte’s drug war drew global condemnation for its death toll, estimated at over 6,000 by official counts and up to 30,000 by human rights groups. Arrests and killings peaked in 2016-2017, with police operations targeting suspected dealers and users in poor neighborhoods.

His defiance echoes his time in office, when he routinely dismissed international criticism. Now confined, Duterte frames his stance as a defense of national pride. Legal experts say waivers like his are rare but permissible under ICC rules, provided defendants grasp the risks.