The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team’s request for additional expert verification of digital and online evidence in his case.
In a decision dated September 26, Trial Chamber III denied the proposal to require expert verification reports for open-source and user-generated materials submitted by the prosecution.
The defense argued that additional verification was necessary to ensure the authenticity and reliability of digital evidence amid widespread online misinformation.
The prosecution opposed the request, saying the need for expert reports should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Instead, the ICC approved the addition of a URL metadata field to help identify the web addresses associated with submitted digital evidence.
Source: PhilNews24 | September 30, 2026
