Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) trying hard to look like a broken man. It was his latest attempt to play the victim card, and human rights violations victims and their families who were watching did not buy it.
The families instantly recalled Duterte’s arrogant behavior at the Quad Committee hearings at the House of Representatives, how his coterie of thugs smirked and laughed at the victims’ families and how the former tried to intimidate them.
Duterte’s counsel, his former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, resorted to grandstanding after the court denied their motions for a postponement of the hearing. This early in the game, Medialdea did a Duterte on the court, attempting to bully it into defensiveness by accusing it of “kidnapping Duterte” because the manner of his arrest and surrender to the court allegedly violated Duterte’s right to due process. The presiding judge promptly shot down Medialdea’s motions, correctly pointing out that the first presentation was not the proper time to raise such issues, and that the requested postponement was addressed by allowing Duterte to attend the hearing online from his place of detention.
The judge set the next hearing for the confirmation of charges on September 23, 2025, to give both the prosecution and the defense sufficient time to prepare their evidence. This is also the time set aside for additional witnesses to come forward to present their testimonies.
Duterte’s co-conspirators must likewise be meted justice and held accountable for their crimes. Their names have already been revealed at the Quadcomm hearings:They are, among others, former PNP chiefs Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas and P/Col. Lito Patay. Not coincidentally, these leading police officers, along with those in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), were also implicated in the extrajudicial killings of peasants, indigenous peoples, human rights workers, among others.
One by one, they are seeking state protection from the looming ICC warrants for their arrest. One by one, they will discover that they have become pariahs in this country and elsewhere.
We call on all victims of Duterte’s crimes, their families and their communities to come together and organize, especially as we face a long journey towards full justice and accountability. More needs to be done, as the climate of impunity persists and the Duterte-era violations continue to this day under Marcos Jr.