THE hearing for the confirmation of charges of former President Rodrigo Duterte began Monday, with both sides showing what could be a preview of the proceedings if a trial does push through.
Speaking on behalf of the victims, lawyer Joel Butuyan warned that if the charges are not confirmed, Duterte’s homecoming would turn him into a conquering hero who would continue preaching a gospel of immunity.
Defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said Mr. Duterte’s self-incriminating statements about his role in the bloody war on drugs were taken out of context, and blamed media and the “loose collective of civil society” for blowing them out of proportion. He slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for “neutralizing” Duterte by sending him to The Hague, and the victims’ lawyer for making the issue all about politics.
Duterte’s words were mere hyperbole, bluster, and rhetoric, Kaufman insisted. He ended his spiel with an impassioned plea for the court to give back Tatay Digong to the people.
Meanwhile, the prosecution cited testimonies from witnesses who were part of Duterte’s killing machinery, the Davao Death Squad. Lawyer Julian Nicholls also showed how Duterte’s own words affirmed the existence of such a machinery.
“That’s not hyperbole. That’s not bluster. That’s him telling the truth when he feels safe, and that he can bank on his continued impunity,” Nicholls said.
We take confidence that the ICC would have nothing of the attempts to tug at heartstrings and paint Mr. Duterte as a frail, misunderstood maverick who simply wanted to bring peace and order to his constituencies.
Cold logic and hard evidence that would dominate the rest of the process in this international body. Those banking on being able to win hearts and minds would fall flat on their faces. Only the facts will be established, and it will indeed be a reckoning for the supposedly strong leader who now says he is too weak and too frail to personally hear what he is being accused of.
The cases will stand on merit, and the only common plan that matters is the one where those with blood on their hands will not be allowed to use the usual machinations that have saved them from closer scrutiny in the past. The cases have been carefully and painstakingly put together. They will be argued well and without fanfare. The wait will be long, but we believe justice will be at hand.
