“Walang ibang sinabi si Kaufman kundi itanggi ang krimen ni Duterte pero wala namang naipresentang ebidensya para ipagtanggol ang kanyang amo.” (All he could say was to deny Duterte’s crimes but he failed to present any evidence to defend his boss) Llore Pasco, whose two sons were killed in police operations, said.
Pasco, who attended the ICC pre-trial hearing in The Hague, the Netherlands, added, “Napakahaba ng litanya pero walang kwenta. Ang mga papuri ni Kaufman sa kanyang amo ay walang kinalaman sa pagpapatupad ni Duterte ng madugong war on drugs.” (He had a lengthy speech but without substance. Kaufman’s praises for his boss have nothing to do with Duterte’s implementation of a bloody war on drugs)
Pasco said her two sons were denied due process and were summarily killed.
Another family of one of the victims, Sheerah Escudero, took offense at Kaufman’s outright denial that there were thousands of victims. Her brother Ephraim was killed in September 2017. “The media and human rights groups did not invent stories about how our loved ones were killed. Yes, our narrative is sacred and unchallengeable because it is the unshakable truth.”
Thousands of miles away from The Hague, Dahlia Cuartero also watched the hearing online, together with other members of the Rise Up for Life and for Rights.
Cuartero said, “Paano niyang nasabi na ipinatupad ni Duterte ang law and order? Na tumigil ang kriminalidad dahil sa kanya? Si Duterte mismo ang yumurak sa batas nang atasan niya ang pulisya na i-neutralize ang drug suspects. Ang mga pwersa ng estado mismo ang nagsagawa ng kriminal na mga aktibidad gaya ng pagpaslang at pagtortyur sa drug suspects.” (How could Kaufman claim that Duterte upheld law and order? That criminality stopped because of him? Duterte himself trampled upon the law when he ordered the police to neutralize drug suspects. State forces were the ones who carried out criminal activities such as killing and torturing drug suspects.)
While Duterte’s camp came empty-handed, the prosecution and victims’ legal representatives were prepared.
Rubylin Litao, national coordinator of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, said that the prosecution cited statements from insider witnesses who helped Duterte implement the Davao Death Squad model into a national scale.
“The prosecution as well as the victim’s lawyers were able to demonstrate how Duterte’s policy victimized the poor and why such a policy led to the commission of murder and attempted murder, which constitute crimes against humanity,” Litao said.
