Duterte can’t hide from accountability. Truth and justice will prevail.
Duterte may not show up in court but the world, and especially the loved ones of his 30,000+ victims will be paying attention. We welcome the revelation of eight co-perpetrators in Duterte's deadly scheme and swift action must be taken to ensure they are held to account. With the critical addition of at least 500 claimants in the trial, we remain cautiously optimistic that the trial will bring justice and Duterte would be held accountable for his crimes against the Filipino people.
Duterte's a coward who cannot bear to take accountability for his actions
The Duterte camp has tried to delay the trial for months and in Duterte's letter to the court announcing his decision to skip the pre-trial hearings, he outlines three bogus excuses:
The ICC doesn't have jurisdiction over him and his crimes,
he is too old and frail to remember anything, and
there was no policy of murder during his reign.
The ICC doesn't have jurisdiction over Duterte and his crimes
The question of jurisdiction has long be clarified by legal experts but to put it plainly, the Philippines was a member of the ICC from 2011 and only left in 2019 because Duterte feared the scrutiny on his regime. Not only is this insulting to his victims but also disrespectful to the democratic proceedings being pursued by the ICC.
Duterte is too old and frail remember anything, let alone stand trial
The ICC already stated that Duterte was fit to stand trial after months of evaluations. But Filipino politicians have long used this excuse to evade accountability like Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's fake neck brace, Imelda Marcos being allowed to post bail because of her "old age" after being charged with graft and sentenced to at least 6 years in prison, and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile was allowed to post bail because of “advanced age and for health reasons.” The ICC has stated this won’t impact the pre-trial proceedings.
Duterte did not oversee extrajudicial killings
His words speak for themselves:
"There are three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them." September 2016
"I must admit that at least a third of the killings happen during police encounters. I know it because in Davao, I used to do it personally, just to show to the guys that if I can do it, why can't you?" December 2016
"Shoot them dead" April 2020
The fight for justice and accountability continues
Too many times our so called leaders are not held accountable. Marcos Sr. was brought to Hawaii by the US and there were no real consequences to his and his family's greed, corruption, and violence. Duterte was allowed to finish his term and was also free for years after all the knowledge of his crimes were brought to light. His arrest was a first step milestone for actual justice for the Filipino people. His trial is a pivotal milestone against impunity and corruption in the Philippines.
This is because the problem of corruption and fascism is deeply embedded in Philippine society and overthrowing one figurehead only changes the face but maintains the problem. That's why we see the same issues come up time and again, no matter the dynasty in power.
Let the spirit of EDSA inspire us but we must build on that legacy and fight for genuine social change and democracy in our homeland.
TAKE ACTION!
Join Malaya Movement USA: malayamovement.com/join
Sign the petition to remove Julie Jamora, Malaya USA’s National Secretary General and other human rights defenders from the Philippines government's blacklist tinyurl.com/petition4julie
Help Alma Bowman's continued fight outside of detention linktr.ee/j4ab
Take part in our People Power Week of Action! malayamovement.com/labanan
What are the ICC pre-trial hearings?
The pre-trial hearings are also the "confirmation of charges procedure". They are to determine whether the evidence against him is "sufficient enough to show substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crimes he or she is suspected of." If any part of the charges are confirmed, the case will move to trial. The Chamber will issue their decision within 60 days after the confirmation hearing.
Who else are named as co-perpetrators?
Eight individuals were recently named as Duterte's co-perpetrators for having "shared a common plan or agreement to neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines":
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Davao PNP chief during Duterte's mayoral post and head of the PNP during Duterte's presidency, chief enforcer of the drug war countrywide; Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte's personal aide and special assistant; Former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II who served as Duterte's lawyer in cases involving the so-called “Davao Death Squad”; Davao City police chief Vicente Danao Jr. (who later became the Philippine National Police counterintelligence chief); Davao City Police Chief Isidro Lapeña (who became the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief; Oscar Albayalde, former National Capital Region police chief who succeeded Dela Rosa as PNP chief; Camilo Cascolan, a former PNP chief; Dante Gierran, former National Bureau of Investigation chief, who headed the NBI Davao region
The ICC has yet to issue warrants of arrests for these named individuals and has yet to release full list of unnamed PNP and other high ranking officials.
