Collective action of drug war families marks Duterte’s first year in ICC

MANILA – “We have seen that our collective action can hold even the most powerful official, a former president, accountable,” said Llore Pasco, mother of two drug war victims, in a protest to mark the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest of Rodrigo Duterte today, March 11.

Pasco is one of the delegates of Filipino families who flew to The Hague to observe the ICC confirmation of charges hearing that concluded last February 27. Her two sons Crisanto and Juan Carlos Lozano were killed by policemen in May 2017.

She called on the ICC to confirm Duterte’s charges of alleged crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, during his mayoral and presidential term when the Philippines was still a member of the Rome Statute.

“This proves that our fight is just amid the attacks from trolls and Duterte’s allies,” said Pasco in Filipino. During her engagement at The Hague, she became one of the targets of the artificial intelligence-assisted disinformation campaign to discredit her.

Read: AI-assisted disinformation used vs drug war families

Meanwhile, human rights alliance Karapatan renewed its call for the ICC to confirm the charges and proceed with trial. They also joined the drug war families in the protest, posting “wanted posters” of Duterte’s co-perpetrators.

“Apart from Duterte, the victims’ families would also like to see his co-conspirators behind bars,” said Karapatan deputy secretary general Maria Sol Taule. “They have been named in a redacted list released by the ICC—former police chiefs Ronald “Bato’ dela Rosa, Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan (deceased), Oscar Albayalde and Isidro Lapeña, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go.”

Taule added, “These individuals who actually designed, implemented, funded and enabled Duterte’s war on drugs and thwarted the victims’ attempts to seek justice must face the consequences.

Duterte Panagutin Campaign Network honors the victims’ families, lawyers, and advocates for braving the attacks – turning their grief into courage – dubbing it as a “historic moment for justice and accountability.” 

“We powered through, despite the gauntlet of intimidation and harassment experienced by the kin of the victims and the calculated delaying tactics from the Duterte camp,” the network noted. “The arc of the moral universe may be long, but it bends towards justice. We are on the side of truth, and we are certain that in the end, victory is ours.”

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I is expected to issue a decision 60 days after the confirmation of charges hearing. The chamber could confirm the charges and proceed to trial, decline to confirm the charges, or adjourn the hearing and request the prosecutor to conduct further investigation.

Whatever the decision may be, drug war widow Jane Lee told Bulatlat that the fight continues and they are ready to push back.

“We have nothing to lose. Our loved ones are already dead,” Lee said in Filipino during an interview. “Whatever the ICC decision is, we will demand for justice together.”

Her husband, Michael Lee, was killed vigilante-style in 2017. He was a jeepney driver and a musician, and he was not involved in the illegal drug trade. This coming March 20 will be Michael’s ninth death anniversary.

“Duterte is not the victim here. We are—the families and relatives of those who were mercilessly killed by his war on drugs policy, which in reality was a war against the poor,” Pasco said in her parting remarks during the protest.

The most recent development with the ICC, as of this writing, is the release of ICC prosecution’s request for clarification about the role of six Filipino lawyers who have been working with Duterte’s legal counsel.

Part of the ICC prosecution’s role under the article 68 of the Rome Statute is to “take appropriate measures to protect the safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and privacy of victims and witnesses.”

The submission’s relevance is to know which individuals have access to highly sensitive confidential information, including the witnesses of the ICC prosecution and the victims themselves. (AMU, RVO)

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