Duterte to face trial as ICC judges confirm charges

MANILA, Philippines — The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I – composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antonella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera – unanimously ruled in favor of committing Duterte to trial.

“The Chamber finds that there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible for the crimes charged in Counts 1-3 as an indirect co-perpetrator, and/or for ordering and/or inducing and/or for aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes,” read a portion of the 50-page redacted version of the decision.

The landmark ruling caps the pre-trial stage of the proceedings against Duterte, who is facing three counts of crimes against humanity covering 49 incidents involving 76 killings and two attempted murders.

Duterte was named an indirect co-perpetrator in both the drug war killings and those committed by the so-called Davao death squad (DDS) when he was mayor or vice mayor of Davao City.

The charges cover incidents from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, when the Philippines was a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Specifically included were 19 alleged DDS killings from 2013 to 2016 in the Davao area, as well as 14 victims tagged high-value targets and 43 killings during barangay clearance operations when Duterte was president.

Evidence

According to the pre-trial judges, the available evidentiary material shows the existence of a common plan to “kill alleged criminals in the Philippines, including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production.”

“As regards to Mr. Duterte’s specific conduct relevant to the charges, the evidence demonstrates that Mr. Duterte established and oversaw the DDS from its creation in the late 1980s until the end of June 2016, with the aim of killing criminals,” read the ruling.

“Mr. Duterte ordered the creation of lists of individuals allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade or other forms of criminality and publicly named certain individuals, proffering death threats against them; some of these individuals were subsequently killed,” it added.

Citing evidence presented by the prosecution, the pre-trial judges noted that once elected president, Duterte and his co-perpetrators extended the scope of their common plan nationwide.

“The evidence shows that Mr. Duterte provided personnel and logistical resources to further the commission of the crimes,” it added.

The decision was based on the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defense during the week-long confirmation of charges hearing in February.

Trial proper

A new set of judges will compose the Trial Chamber to be constituted by the ICC presidency.

“Trials at the ICC are fair and impartial, and the Defense will have sufficient time to prepare its case, while respecting the rights of victims,” the ICC said in a statement.

The decision to confirm the charges was released a day after the ICC Appeals Chamber affirmed the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the case.

Kristina Conti, who represents some of the drug war victims, welcomed the subsequent decisions of the two ICC chambers.

“We are filled with immense joy and gratitude to the ICC for its swift and well-crafted decisions. The successive rulings on jurisdiction and the confirmation of charges pave the way for the trial of Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity. Our decision to seek recourse and file a complaint before the ICC has proven to be correct,” she said.

“Victims should now prepare for their participation. A swift trial must be pushed forward so that the full truth behind the horrific events during the Dutertes’ tenure in Davao, and later in Malacañang, may finally come to light,” she added.

‘Complete fiction’

Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman, meanwhile, said the decision was “hardly surprising.”

He stressed that the charges were “based on the uncorroborated statements of vicious self-confessed murderers acting as cooperating witnesses.”

“The credibility of these witnesses was never assessed at confirmation,” he said.

“At trial, the Defense will prove that the aforementioned ‘State policy’ is a complete fiction. The Defense will also show that the evidence of very same criminal witnesses, so gleefully peddled by the former President’s many detractors, has zero weight,” he added.

Malacañang yesterday said that the confirmation of the charges against Duterte is expected to benefit both parties of the case.

“Justice needs to be attained in this case. Both parties will benefit. Justice for the accused if he did not commit wrongdoing or justice for the victims if their rights are abused,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a statement.

‘Not surprised’

Kaufman also said they were not surprised by the judgment on jurisdiction by the Appeals Chamber, citing a supposed “existential distress” of the ICC.

“Allowing the appeal would have practically emptied the Court’s docket,” he said in a message to reporters.

“From a legal perspective, the appeal judgment fails to clarify the threshold for when an amorphous preliminary examination becomes a matter before the Court. As it would now appear an investigation may be opened, post-withdrawal, not just one year down the line but even twenty years down the line,” he added.

For his part, former chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo criticized the decision on jurisdiction, saying its ruling was allegedly meant to “justify its questionable existence.”

“It has violated its own Rome Statute that created the ICC ignoring the principle of complementarity stating that it can only assume jurisdiction over a member-state that does not have the capacity to prosecute those who commit crimes against humanity, and if it has the capacity, does not prosecute the offenders,” Panelo said in a statement.

“The Philippines has a functioning and robust legal system. Moreover, the Philippines has already withdrawn as member of the ICC and therefore the latter has already lost its jurisdiction over our country,” Panelo added.

Kitty slams Duterte’s critics

Duterte’s daughter Kitty slammed critics of her father, adding that “his fire burns in the bluest of blue.”

“I didn’t really discuss what happened today, but I asked him, ‘what do you feel, what do you think, what do you want them to know?’ ‘Invictus,’” Kitty said in an interview posted on Alvin and Tourism Facebook.

She became emotional as she recited the Invictus, which is a popular short poem by English author William Ernest Henley. Invictus is Latin for “unconquered,” where the speaker in the poem proclaims his strength in the face of adversity.

“He will live longer than you think. His immortality will be seen on the minds and in the hearts of every Filipino he has saved, and very long after that through his every descendant. So, if you’ve noticed, the strongest and most controversial personalities are always either to love or to hate,” Kitty said.

“So remember this, no matter how much you hate PRRD, there will always be someone, no scratch that, there will always be millions who love him just as much or even more. If you think you will win, no you will not because either way, Invictus,” she added.

Kitty is in The Hague, Netherlands to visit her father. — Alexis Romero, Bella Cariaso