Watching the weeklong proceeding on whether or not former President Rodrigo Duterte should go to trial at the International Criminal Court, we find one truth being affirmed, again and again: words matter.
The words of the witnesses paint a compelling story. Taken individually and in their totality, the stories expose a pattern of an organized, methodical, and brutal system to snuff out the lives of those accused of being drug addicts or pushers.
But it is the words of Duterte himself that give us an idea of the existence—and enormity—of the common plan.
Clip after clip of his speeches shows the former President’s pride at this plan that he had put in place. He has never made a secret out of his killing spree, playing up to an adoring crowd and relishing being a “tough” guy. During his congressional testimony in late 2024, he was unequivocal about the existence of the Davao Death Squad and how it has supposedly thrived in Davao, and later on elsewhere in the country when he became president.
But his defense attorney tells us that these are “just” words – bluster, hyperbole, braggadocio, nothing more. He is that kind of person, given to the dramatic, and vulgar in his speech. These words bring us back to the excuses offered by former Palace spokesperson Harry Roque, who chided Filipinos for taking Duterte’s words literally when everyone knew he liked to exaggerate for effect.
That is why many do not like him. See, Nicholas Kaufman said, Duterte had told his subordinates that killing was only all right if done in self-defense. Duterte never killed anybody, the lawyer insisted, even as his client had boasted, on several occasions, that he had.
In fact, Mr. Kaufman himself makes much ado about words. For example, he said “neutralize” meant something other than kill. He said “widespread” must cover the entire population of the Philippines.
Then again, Duterte’s enforcers made the word “nanlaban” commonplace, a convenient justification for the killings even when the “panlalaban” was staged.
Kaufman also kept on willfully endangering witnesses by disrespecting the court’s directive and citing things that had been redacted for a purpose. The livestream was interrupted numerous times because of this – even when he had given his word that he would abide by the rules of the proceeding.
The families of those who were killed in the bloody drug war need to wait some more before knowing whether Duterte would, in fact, face trial for the crimes he is accused of.
Meanwhile, Duterte supporters are portraying him as a man so old and frail, and no longer in possession of his faculties. Bring him home, they continue to say. Words, again, of sympathy from the diehards.
In his closing remarks, Kaufman quoted the former president saying: “I was a faithful servant of the people, and that is how I wish to be remembered. I have now accepted my fate, and I realize I could die in prison.” We are sure his supporters would make much out of these words from a feeble man. But we do hope he lives long enough to be tried and judged and punished, not only by his words but by his deeds.
