The Hague, Netherlands – Lawyers representing victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs said prosecutors have presented strong and compelling evidence linking Duterte to crimes against humanity, arguing the case has already met the legal threshold required to send him to trial before the International Criminal Court.
In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, following the conclusion of the confirmation of charges hearing, Paolina Massidda, principal counsel of the ICC Office of Public Counsel for Victims, said the evidence on record shows a clear link between Duterte and the alleged killings carried out during his anti-drug campaign.
“We think that the evidence presented by the prosecution is really strong,” Massidda said.
“There is clear indication of a common plan or an agreement, as you want to call it. It’s clear that Mr. Duterte played an important role in the plan,” she added.
Massidda pointed to arguments raised during closing statements by victims’ lawyers, saying the record shows that decisions made during the drug war could not have been carried out without Duterte’s approval.
“Nothing could have been done without the approval of Mr. Duterte, who as president of the Philippines held a very specific and important role. People were certainly clear on the fact that if he was saying something as head of state, then this was an instruction and that is to be followed,” she added.
Massidda said judges at this stage will only determine whether there are substantial grounds to believe the crimes were committed.
“At this point in time the threshold is reasonable grounds to believe. We are not talking of a threshold beyond reasonable doubt. This will be for trial, if the charges are confirmed, and this threshold is certainly met at the moment,” she said.
Massidda said the defense appeared to argue the case as if it were already at trial, challenging the credibility of witnesses and the number of victims, rather than addressing the legal standard applicable at the confirmation stage.
Asked whether victims are confident the charges will be confirmed, Massidda said the assessment is based on what is already contained in the case record.
“The victims are confident because we have seen what is in the record of the case,” she said.
“Of course, we cannot say this will be confirmed 100 percent because this is a judicial decision. But we think that the evidence is enough at this juncture to commit Mr. Duterte to trial.”
She also rejected attempts by the defense to downplay so-called “nanlaban” cases and arguments minimizing the impact of the drug war.
“We made it very clear from where these worries are coming,” Massidda said.
“There is evidence in the record of the case supporting that specific categories of people were targeted, that there was a policy of targeting them, and that the operations were not spontaneous,” she said
She said victims’ lawyers demonstrated that the killings followed a repeated and common pattern.
Massidda added that the victims have consistently questioned the accuracy of police reports cited by the defense.
“In the account of the victims, it’s practically unanimous,” she said. “Police reports practically never describe what happened. We have accounts of witnesses saying that guns and shabu packets were placed beside the body after death by the police.”
The confirmation of charges hearing concluded on Friday, February 27, before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC. Judges are expected to issue a written decision within 60 days on whether the charges will be confirmed and the case sent to trial.
