MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 23 February) – Citing earlier pronouncements by former Justice secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, the legal representatives of the victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs” said there is “no hope for domestic justice.”
In his opening statement during the confirmation of charges hearing before the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Court on Monday night (Philippine time), lawyer Joel Butuyan quoted Remulla as saying, “It is difficult to prove the case here, and build up the case, because those who need to speak are involved in the crime. There is nothing, not even a police report. You don’t have a scene of the crime. You don’t have ballistics. You don’t have DNA.
“Everything that could be erased was erased, so that the cases would not push through, this is why it has reached the ICC.”
Butuyan said Remulla’s statements meant that “the door to domestic justice is permanently closed for victims of the Duterte extrajudicial killings.”
The victims’ representative said that if the charges [against Duterte] are not confirmed, “one of the gravest concerns of the victims is that Mr. Duterte will return to the Philippines as a conquering hero,” and “will continue preaching his gospel of impunity.”
Butuyan also told the judges that “if Mr. Duterte could threaten to slap the judges of this court, which he did while he was president, this chamber should imagine the kind of terror-filled threats and the violent actions that can easily be used against the victims if the suspect walks free from this court.”
He said Duterte’s arrest and detention “has not stopped impunity in the Philippines.”
“The virus of impunity that he spread all over the country has become a cancer that has metastasized, infecting millions of Filipinos. Mr. Duterte has created clones of himself. He converted millions of peace-loving citizens into blood-thirsty disciples who have become converts with the belief that violence and killings are valid solutions to societal problems,” he added.
At the outset of his opening statement, Butuyan conveyed “the very deep disappointment of the victims at the decision allowing Rodrigo Duterte not to be present in this stage of the confirmation of charges.”
“The sight of Mr Duterte being read and be confronted with the grave and horrible charges against him would have constituted a vital component of justice for the victims,” he said. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
