Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Award-winning photojournalist Raffy Lerma talks about his “Pananagutan” photo exhibit on February 24, 2026 in the Hague, where former President Rodrigo Duterte is facing the International Criminal Court over charges of crimes against humanity. Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1772003163427viber_image_2026-02-25_15-03-40_cropped_processed_by_imagy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Award-winning photojournalist Raffy Lerma talks about his “Pananagutan” photo exhibit on February 24, 2026 in the Hague, where former President Rodrigo Duterte is facing the International Criminal Court over charges of crimes against humanity. Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Raffy Lerma’s &quot;Pieta&quot; — the photograph that became one of the most haunting images of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war — resurfaced anew in public discussions this week after it made its way into the International Criminal Court (ICC), where crimes against humanity evidence against the Philippines’ 16th president are under review.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/07/28/16/blog-photojournalists-debunk-doubts-on-la-pieta-picture">BLOG: Photojournalists debunk doubts on ‘La Pieta’ picture</a></div><p>Lerma’s photo was among the images that Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang included in his presentation deck as he briefed the chamber on the culture of impunity and the series of killings that gripped the Philippines’ under Duterte’s rule.</p><p>“I cannot explain, you cannot explain everything that happened with a single photo. Michael Siaron was just one out of the thousands of people, Filipinos, who were killed,” he said, referring to the lifeless man clutched in a grieving woman’s arms in the acclaimed photo.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/duterte-at-the-icc">Duterte at ICC: News and Updates</a></div><p>“All these times I was always asked: ‘How do we respond to these images of violence? Do we just look? Do we just empathize?’” he said in a speech delivered in a mixer organized by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).</p><p>“For me, it wasn’t enough. I needed to act. We needed to act.”</p><p>Nearly a decade after covering the drug war, Lerma’s “Pananagutan” series — a photo exhibit showcasing photos of Duterte’s drug war — opens in the Hague, just a few kilometers where the supposed chief perpetrator of killings is detained.</p><p>“‘Pananagutan&quot; is a Tagalog word. It means accountability, but it also has another meaning: Responsibility towards others,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/duterte-s-war-on-drugs-more-of-a-war-against-the-poor-victims-lawyer-2356">Duterte’s war on drugs more of a ‘war against the poor’: victims’ lawyer</a></div><p>“They called us many names. I won’t mention it but we responded. It might not be what most journalists would do, but I think it was most appropriate to act when the state was the one that was perpetrating all these killings.”</p><p>“It’s a testament to what happened, to the injustice that happened.”</p><p>A day before Lerma’s exhibition, Duterte’s chief defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman blamed the media for portraying the former president in an “unpalatable” light.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/25/de-lima-gaslighting-ang-ginawa-ni-kaufman-sa-icc-hearing-0005">De Lima: &#x27;Gaslighting&#x27; ang ginawa ni Kaufman sa ICC hearing</a></div><p>“They print their glossy reports, replete with iconic photographic images of grieving families, and dead bodies in rain-swept night time crime scenes, all dramatically illuminated with a fluorescent glow of neon,” the British-Israeli lawyer said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/prosecutors-defense-lawyers-clash-on-day-1-of-icc-confirmation-hearings-0835?fbclid=IwY2xjawQLe19leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJBSDBJQTFOdEZOeUltb1VVc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiNVFmWDNr_AYa6zxVoPV6vbr0186jVIZKQlw3t6mxfxUTznofmMckP9311b_aem_vmzQ4Avekald_dc72u7umw">Prosecutors, defense lawyers clash on Day 1 of ICC Confirmation hearings</a></div><p>“Images, carefully crafted to shock the conscience and sway the emotions, and, I may say, to be used by the prosecutor when they don&#x27;t even relate to the charges,&quot; he said.</p><p>Lerma has repeatedly declined to answer questions from the media, saying that he hopes to keep the focus on the 4-day confirmation of charges hearing.</p><p>“I am so happy that we are here in this space,” the photojournalist said in his speech.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/23/duterte-is-perfectly-fine-to-attend-confirmation-of-charges-hearing-says-prosecution-2249">&#x27;He doesn&#x27;t want to be here&#x27;: Duterte is &#x27;perfectly fine&#x27; to attend confirmation of charges hearing, says prosecution</a></div><p>“I hope we focus not on our differences, but on our strengths because we have a long battle to go and hopefully we attain justice in the future.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><br/><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/vxOyxySNFa8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><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/Z0Kgkca9eLE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><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/-fa8QaXYq7g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Raffy Lerma’s photo was among the images that Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang included in his presentation deck as he briefed the chamber on the culture of impunity and the series of killings that gripped the Philippines’ under Duterte’s rule.</p>

Raffy Lerma’s photo was among the images that Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang included in his presentation deck as he briefed the chamber on the culture of impunity and the series of killings that gripped the Philippines’ under Duterte’s rule.

Photojournalist behind drug war ‘Pieta’ calls for accountability as ICC tackles Duterte case

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Photojournalist behind drug war ‘Pieta’ calls for accountability as ICC tackles Duterte case

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 25, 2026 03:08 PM PHT

|

Updated Feb 25, 2026 03:12 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

Duterte in ICC

Raffy Lerma

drug war

war on drugs

human rights

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