Detained former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s latest appearance at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday sparked talks among Filipinos.
Duterte physically attended his fourth status conference in his crimes against humanity case before the ICC Trial Chamber III, where preparations for his trial on November 30 were discussed.
A status conference is held by the chamber to allow parties to discuss matters related to the case before proceeding to a full trial.
This was the second time Duterte personally appeared in court since his arrest in March 2025. His last appearance was for his third status conference last September, when Filipinos noticed his fuller hair and a relatively healthier look.
At his second appearance, the former president wore a black jacket and headset and listened to the proceedings from behind a computer.
Duterte’s look prompted some Filipinos to quip about his state, since he rarely makes a personal appearance at the ICC.
“As a tenured call center agent ang atake ni tatay. ‘Hi, thank you for calling…'” a Threads user wrote.
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The post has garnered 8,600 likes, 1,200 shares, 821 reposts, and almost 310 replies.
“Hahahaaha tambay na nagdo-Dota. Extend, extend!” quipped another user, referring to a popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game series.
Meanwhile, the word “extend” is usually exclaimed by internet users in computer shops who want to extend their period using the internet.
“‘Yung para bang naghahanap ng SME (subject matter expert) o TL (team leader) for escalation,” another Threads user quipped, referring to terms in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
“Mukha ng agent ‘pag may i-e-escalate,” commented a different user.
“Thank you for calling ICC, how can I help you?” an X (formerly Twitter) user quipped with laughing emojis.
Thank you for calling ICC, how can I help you? 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/MOHDGS9hKq
— Teacher E (@E4thofjuly) October 13, 2026
“Naaalibadbaran ako sa wig niya. ‘Wag kana bumalik sa Pinas, (please),” commented another X user.
The status conference comes after the ICC ruled that Duterte is fit to stand trial.
The tribunal’s decision, made public on October 8, cleared the way for the trial to proceed as scheduled on November 30.
The case stems from the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity linked to killings during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
Prosecutors have charged him with three counts of crimes against humanity involving alleged murders and attempted murders committed in the Philippines between November 2011 and March 2019.
