Dennis Gaviola

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17437821856821743782235070.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A gun is seen on the hand of one of 2 alleged drug pushers who were killed after allegedly fighting it out with police in Tondo, Manila. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">&#x27;NANLABAN?&#x27; A gun is seen on the hand of one of 2 alleged drug pushers who were killed after allegedly fighting it out with police in Tondo, Manila in 2017 at the height of the Duterte administration&#x27;s bloody &quot;war on drugs&quot;. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file</em></span></span></span></div><p>Loved ones of alleged victims of Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s &quot;war on drugs&quot; are hoping for &quot;truth and justice&quot; as the former Philippines president faces International Criminal Court charges, their lawyer said on Friday.</p><p>The reverberations from Duterte&#x27;s anti-drugs campaign that killed thousands are still being felt today in the poor communities that bore the brunt, Gilbert Andres told AFP in an interview.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/war-on-drugs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">War on Drugs: The Unheard Voices</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/10/02/17/troubled-cops-confess-killings-to-priests-says-cbcp-president">Troubled cops confess killings to priests, says CBCP president</a></div><p>&quot;They want their voices to be heard,&quot; said Andres, who represents victims at the ICC and is likely to play a pivotal role in an eventual trial for Duterte.</p><p>There is a chance victims would be compensated financially if Duterte were to be convicted for the crime against humanity of murder, &quot;but more importantly, it&#x27;s really truth and justice,&quot; he said.</p><p>Duterte, 80, faces ICC charges of 43 murders as a crime against humanity, but Gilbert said this number was just &quot;emblematic&quot; and many more victims and families were expected to come forward.</p><p>While Duterte currently faces just one ICC charge, Gilbert revealed that victims are hoping the prosecutor will add more charges to the accusations.</p><p>&quot;There were numerous and massive instances of arbitrary detention that occurred side-by-side with the murders of their relatives,&quot; said the lawyer.</p><p>&quot;There are specific instances of arbitrary detention and the victims hope that it will also be included in the document containing charges,&quot; he told AFP.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/10/06/17/pnp-says-one-er-zero-ejks-under-duterte-admin">PNP says one... er, zero EJKs under Duterte admin</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/10/24/17/more-pinoys-reject-nanlaban-claim-sws">More Pinoys reject &#x27;nanlaban&#x27; claim - SWS</a></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Due process&#x27; -</strong></div><p>The lawyer representing Duterte, Nicholas Kaufman, has told AFP in an interview he sees &quot;compelling&quot; reasons for the ICC to throw the case out because it lacks jurisdiction.</p><p>Duterte removed the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 and his supporters insist the court therefore has no power over the former president and he should be released.</p><p>But Andres said previous jurisprudence from the ICC showed the court did have the jurisdiction in this case.</p><p>&quot;I think there&#x27;s strong case law as well as a statutory basis... for the ICC to still exercise jurisdiction,&quot; he said.</p><p>He said victims&#x27; testimony would show the world the ongoing impact of Duterte&#x27;s campaign.</p><p>&quot;In fact, our position is that it&#x27;s not really a war on drugs, it&#x27;s a war against the poor,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;The murdered breadwinners such as the fathers, the brothers, sisters, mothers, actually (this) is still affecting their socio-economic status now.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/3/icc-releases-proposed-application-process-for-victims-to-participate-in-duterte-case-1944">ICC releases proposed application process for victims to participate in Duterte case</a></div><p>Duterte backers from around Europe have demonstrated frequently in noisy shows of support for the former president.</p><p>Supporters also keep a constant vigil outside the seaside detention centre in The Hague where Duterte is interned.</p><p>Andres said it was good they were able to exercise their right to freedom of speech, accusing the man they support of denying human rights to his alleged victims.</p><p>&quot;Were the right to life and to due process of the victims of the war on drugs respected by Mr. Duterte? The answer is a resounding no.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/31/duterte-s-lawyer-insists-icc-has-no-jurisdiction-over-former-philippine-president-2206">Duterte lawyer says no ICC jurisdiction; ICC says crimes while PH was state party</a></div><p>The case comes at a key moment for the ICC, under pressure from all sides.</p><p>The United States slapped sanctions on the institution after it issued arrest warrants for Israel&#x27;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.</p><p>On Thursday, Hungary announced its withdrawal from the ICC as it welcomed Netanyahu, deriding it as a &quot;political court&quot;.</p><p>But Andres said that the arrest and possible trial of the former president showed the court&#x27;s importance.</p><p>&quot;I think it&#x27;s very important because what it shows is that international criminal justice is not merely theoretical. It actually is useful and it&#x27;s being applied right now,&quot; said the lawyer.</p><p>&quot;It also shows that powerful people can still be subject to accountability no matter how powerful.&quot;</p><p>Duterte was arrested on March 11  on his arrival from Hong Kong at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of its probe into his &quot;war on drugs&quot; that defined his presidency.</p><p>The ICC warrant for Duterte&#x27;s arrest said that as president, the 80-year-old Duterte allegedly created, funded, and armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.</p><p>He was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day he was arrested.</p><p>Duterte on March 14 appeared via video link before ICC judges. He is set to attend a September 25 hearing to confirm the charges against him. </p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qXBleBgGKkA??si=T8ugffvJKF_4-Cpa&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Loved ones of alleged victims of Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs" are hoping for "truth and justice" as the former Philippines president faces International Criminal Court charges, their lawyer said on Friday.</p>

Loved ones of alleged victims of Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs" are hoping for "truth and justice" as the former Philippines president faces International Criminal Court charges, their lawyer said on Friday.

Duterte victims seeking 'truth and justice', lawyer says

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Duterte victims seeking 'truth and justice', lawyer says

Agence France-Presse,

Richard Carter

Published April 04, 2025 11:57 PM PHT

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Updated April 05, 2025 12:38 AM PHT

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Rodrigo Duterte

war on drugs

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