Metro Manila, Philippines – Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense camp told the International Criminal Court (ICC) that extrajudicial killings continued in the Marcos administration, prompting Malacanang to question the inclusion of this claim in its arguments.
Duterte lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman showed statistics during the confirmation of charges hearing on Thursday, Feb. 26, to prove killings during drug operations since 2022.
He based this on the Dahas Project of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, which also monitored the war on drugs during the Duterte administration.
He told the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I that 160 out of 342 killings were at the hands of state agents during Marcos’ first year “and the figures and statistics just kept on rising.”
By the second year, Kaufman said that the Dahas Project report revealed an increase in deaths in the hands of vigilantes, while fatalities in the hands of law enforcement officers decreased to 34 percent from 46.8 percent.
“I’m forced to ask myself, whether anyone on the other side of this room has thought of investigating the Marcos regime and related phenomenon and holding someone accountable,” the defense lawyer said.
“While my colleagues are sitting on the right, victims representatives not clamoring for accountability for those deaths or is it of no consequence now that Mr. Duterte is sitting in the ICC detention center?” he said.
Kaufman presented his arguments to convince the pre-trial judges that there was no sufficient evidence in the crimes against humanity charges against Duterte, and should not proceed to a full trial.
Palace: Marcos does not want EJKs as legacy
Malacañang said the defense argument was laughable, as it questioned why Duterte’s lawyer was raising it before the ICC in the first place.
“Pag-amin ba ‘yon na talagang may patayan sa panahon ni Duterte?” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Friday, Feb. 27.
[Translation: Is that an admission that there really were killings during Duterte’s time?]
In a briefing, Castro said those who have such an allegation should complete their information and immediately send the evidence to Philippine authorities, such as the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation, for a probe.
The Palace official said Marcos does not want extrajudicial killings to be his legacy, adding that addressing illegal drugs has a proper process.
“Even before, ang sabi ng pangulo walang dugong dadanak, hindi niya ginugusto ang extrajudicial killings,” she said.
[Translation: Even before, the president said no blood will be shed, he does not want extrajudicial killings.]
“Lagi pong pinapanatili ng pangulo ang tinatawag nating due process. Kailangan madinig ang mga taong inaakusahan, hindi kinakailangang ipapatay agad ng hindi sila nadidinig,” she said.
[Translation: The president always maintains due process. We have to hear the accused and they should not be killed before that happens.]
The government said around 6,000 people were killed during Duterte’s drug war, but human rights figures claimed higher figures.
Marcos has described his campaign as “bloodless,” touting that his administration had some of the biggest drug seizures and confiscated more than P83 billion in illegal drugs from 2022 to 2025.
As of February 2026, there were over 1,100 drug-related killings during the Marcos administration, according to the Dahas Project, which releases weekly reports based on a criteria.
Defense hits Marcos amid ICC pre-trial hearings
This was not the first time the defense criticized President Marcos and his administration during the confirmation of charges hearing this week.
In his opening statement on Monday, Kaufman alleged Marcos was “set out to neutralize” Duterte and his legacy when the former president was arrested for his ICC case. Malacañang has refuted the claim.
Meanwhile, Castro told Kaufman he would not discuss Duterte’s request for interim release, as the defense lawyer said he would be happy to come to the country if she were to invite him to talk about the matter.
The ICC Appeals Chamber rejected Duterte’s bid for a temporary release last year.
