Families of victims of the Duterte administration’s bloody “war on drugs” and human rights advocates have condemned the indefinite postponement of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a press briefing in Quezon City on September 9, they said Duterte’s request to delay the proceedings was a blatant attempt to escape accountability.
The day before, on September 8, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I granted the request from Duterte’s camp to adjourn the hearing, citing claims that the former president was “not fit to stand trial.”
Victims’ relatives and people’s organizations rejected the argument, stressing that the maneuver denies justice to thousands of poor Filipinos killed in the drug war.
“Nakikita pa siya ng mga anak niya. Paano naman kami, siyam na taon na hinihintay namin? Bulok na po ang mga anak namin sa mga libingan,” said Emily Soriano, whose son was killed during Duterte’s campaign. She urged the ICC to continue the proceedings on September 26, her son’s birthday.
“Nine years na kaming naghihintay at napakatagal na non,” said Llore Pasco, who also lost two sons to the killings. “Mapanlinlang si Duterte. Nakahanda kami kahit ano mang oras ay inaasahan naming mabago ang desisyon ng ICC. Ang gusto namin ay matuloy ang hearing. Huwag payagan ang kaniyang interim release.”
Rights lawyer Kristina Conti, counsel for some of the families, said the trial can move forward without Duterte’s appearance.
“We hope that the postponement is only for a limited time. The confirmation of charges is about determining what he is being accused of. His lawyers will be the ones to speak. Under Rule 124, a suspect can waive appearance. There is a way and there is a basis,” she said.
Conti also affirmed the dissenting opinion of Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera, who opposed the adjournment, adding that “this kind of maneuver is not new at the ICC—last-minute suspensions, sudden halts, or begging by suspects.”
The network Rise Up for Life and for Rights, composed of families of drug war victims, asserted that Duterte is “fit to stand trial” and accused him of exploiting legal processes to delay justice.
“The request for the adjournment of the proceedings is unjustifiable and is just one of his many attempts to evade accountability,” the group said.
Karapatan, a human rights alliance, likewise warned that any delay gives Duterte the chance to “harass, endanger, or even eliminate prosecution witnesses.”
Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, noted that former police colonel Royina Garma is set to testify for the prosecution, which could further strengthen the case of crimes against humanity.
“We will not relent in the quest to hold Rodrigo Duterte and his cohorts accountable for the tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings and other grave human rights violations,” she said.
