Filipinos recall the brutal killings in the war on drugs during the hearing for confirmation of charges against Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The court held the hearings in The Hague, The Netherlands, on February 23-24 and February 26-27.

During the four days, prosecutors’ lawyers, including victims’ lawyers on one side, clashed with Duterte’s defense lawyers on the other side before the judges of the ICC Pre-trial Chamber 1. They presented arguments and counter-arguments on why the former president’s cases must proceed to trial.

Prosecutors clarified that grounds are more than sufficient to advance the trial. Their lawyers systematically laid out preliminary evidence proving Duterte’s “central role” in the widespread and systematic attack on civilians in urban poor communities from November 2011 to March 2019.

As an “indirect co-perpetrator,” Duterte bears significant responsibility for organizing and extending the campaign of brutal killings, appointing enforcers in high positions, offering bounty, creating a culture of impunity, and ordering police and military to kill. They presented documents and witness testimonies. They also played Duterte’s speeches where he directly ordered killing “suspects” and disguising them as “arrest resisters.” Prosecutors stated Duterte and his cohorts had a full plan to kill defenseless civilians.

Victims’ lawyers, meanwhile, exposed the damage the killings inflicted on victims and their communities. They emphasized that children were among the systematically killed, contrary to the defense claim that the only minor killed in the war on drugs was Kian de los Santos. They urged judges to hear victims and grant them a chance to try the case in court.

Duterte’s lawyer, on the other side, again questioned the basis of the charges and the ICC’s authority over them, even after the court already ruled on the matter. Duterte’s defense insisted the cases against him lack basis because no widespread and systematic killing supposedly occurred. He challenged processes, evidence, and even witness testimonies. He repeated the argument that victims died in “legitimate police operations,” and that those killed were “only a few” compared to those arrested. He described Duterte’s verbal orders for killings as mere hyperbole. He also insisted the ICC case is merely the current Marcos regime’s harassment, despite having investigations pushed back in 2018.

Prosecutors replied that the defense’s very questioning of evidence interpretations and witness testimonies provides a major reason to hold the trial. Victims shout for justice. They demand Duterte face trial and accountability for his crimes.

The Filipino people have long awaited the hearing for confirmation of charges. At the hearing’s opening, hundreds of Filipinos marched in The Hague to demand the ICC try Duterte and fittingly convict him for his crimes. Victims’ families and their lawyers joined them.

Families and supporters in the Philippines held actions and watched the hearing on livestream. Cebu saw similar collective viewing. Based on prosecutors’ strong case presentation and defense’s weak counter-arguments, families feel confident the case will proceed to trial. Pre-Trial Chamber 1 will issue its decision 60 days after the hearing, around late April.