Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News, file

Carmelle Lacuata

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/177210571246720170201-ejk-violence-crime-2-jc-4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News, file</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATED) </strong>— The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that the former president did not give any direct order to kill the victims of his &quot;war on drugs&quot;, as it attempted to dismantle the prosecution&#x27;s presentation of the alleged charges against him.</p><p>On the third day of the confirmation of charges hearing at The Hague, Nicholas Kaufman reiterated that Duterte’s speeches and public statements, which had been cited by the prosecution in its statements, are considered “hyperbole” and “bluster”, and that prosecutors had resorted to the theory of indirect co-perpetration.</p><p>“In order to prove criminal liability through indirect perpetration, there is a need to show a common plan, upon which the suspect and his co-perpetrators…a plan on which they mutually agreed, and that common plan, must, without exception, have a criminal element,” he said.</p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/icc-prosecution-victims-counsels-submit-merits-on-day-2-of-duterte-pre-trial-1657">ICC prosecutor cites &#x27;insider witness,&#x27; says &#x27;neutralize&#x27; on Dela Rosa&#x27;s 2016 PNP memo meant to &#x27;kill&#x27;</a></div><p>“The only plan in play was not just totally legitimate in nature, but was in addition widely supported by the Filipino electorate which ensured that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s governance of Davao City throughout the years would thereafter put him in Malacañang,” Kaufman added, refering to the Davao model that later became the basis of the Duterte administration’s &quot;war on drugs&quot;.</p><p>Kaufman said none of the prosecution’s cooperating witnesses can say that Duterte had directly ordered them to kill, nor, he said, was there any direct link connecting Duterte to the other alleged co-perpetrators.</p><p>“The prosecution has to show which one of Duterte’s statements, orders or commands were given to a specific individual, who then went out, pulled the trigger, or communicated the command to someone else, who also went out, pulled the trigger, killing one of its 78 identified victims,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;But the prosecution cannot show such a causal link, they’ve never been able to do that,” he also said.</p><p>He said that the most that the prosecution&#x27;s witnesses would be able to do say is that they “understood that killing is what Duterte would have wanted, or that they had no choice but to comply because that was what is expected of them of their handlers or other such similar expressions of a totally subjective sense of obligation.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;ONLY SPEECHES, BUT NO DIRECT ORDERS&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>For Kaufman, the fact that the prosecution allegedly cannot prove a direct connection between Duterte’s statements and the killings is enough to prove his client’s innocence.</p><p>“All those speeches where the former president made various threats to kill but not one demonstrable incident set out in the Prosecution’s document containing the charges which details an act of murder committed as a result of a direct order given by him,” Kaufman said.</p><p>Later Thursday, he also said that only 248 people on Duterte&#x27;s supposed &quot;narcolist&quot; ended up &quot;neutralized.&quot;</p><p>He said that “assuming that &#x27;neutralized&#x27; actually means killed, which it does not&quot; that meant that inclusion in the supposed list would not necessarily lead to death.</p><p>Duterte had released supposed &quot;narcolists&quot; of officials he said were involved in the illegal drug trade, initially reading out names on live TV and later leaving to agencies like the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to disclose.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/18/9000-barangay-chiefs-are-on-dutertes-narco-list-dilg-undersecretary-says">9,000 barangay chiefs are on Duterte&#x27;s ‘narco-list,’ DILG undersecretary says   </a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>PNP ORDERED TO &#x27;NEUTRALIZE&#x27; ALLEGED DRUG PERSONALITIES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang on Monday accused Duterte, 80, of being an indirect co-perpetrator for the alleged &quot;widespread and systematic&quot; killings committed from November 2011 to March 2019 — a period that covered his term as mayor of Davao City and as president of the Philippines. </p><p>On Tuesday, trial lawyer Edward Jeremy told the court that Dela Rosa in 2016 issued PNP Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016.</p><p>The memorandum was the basis of the Duterte administration&#x27;s &quot;Oplan Double Barrel&quot; in which it ordered police officers to address the drug problem in the barangays and &quot;pursue the neutralization of illegal drugs personalities.&quot;</p><p>Jeremy, citing an &quot;insider witness,&quot; said the memorandum circular &quot;used the word neutralize to emphasize the kill order of President Duterte because that is the promise of President Duterte even before the campaign.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/duterte-drew-up-death-lists-boasted-about-murders-icc-prosecutor-1942">Duterte drew up &#x27;death lists&#x27;, boasted about murders: ICC prosecutor</a></div><p>Prosecutor Robynne Croft, also during Tuesday’s hearing, enumerated the individuals who were allegedly part of a &quot;hierarchical structure&quot; that Duterte had created in Davao City and then expanded at the national level upon his election as Philippine president in 2016.</p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/icc-prosecutor-explains-roles-of-duterte-s-alleged-co-perpetrators-2106">ICC prosecutor explains roles of Duterte&#x27;s alleged &#x27;co-perpetrators&#x27;</a></div><p>During his term as president, Duterte in many speeches encouraged law enforcement agencies to kill drug dealers and users as well as other criminals, especially when they fight back or &quot;nanlaban&quot; in Tagalog. </p><p>He even said at one point to shoot an alleged criminal even if they did not resist arrest.</p><p>Human rights groups in the Philippines and abroad sounded the alarm on Duterte&#x27;s speeches, which also contained promises that he would protect the police force, saying his pronouncements offered law enforcement free rein to kill.</p><p>His spokespersons or aides at the time rushed to defend him, saying he should not be taken literally or that reports about his speeches were taken out of context. </p><p>Duterte also tended to flip-flop on statements or deny controversial remarks altogether.</p><p>Salvador Panelo, Duterte&#x27;s former chief presidential legal counsel, who is among Filipino lawyers attending the pre-trial hearings at The Hague, on Wednesday defended the violence in Duterte&#x27;s pronouncements, saying it was only &quot;bluster&quot; meant to intimidate criminals. </p><p>Panelo also said the former president was fond of &quot;hyperbole.&quot;  </p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/26/defense-brings-out-duterte-speeches-with-exhortation-to-lawful-use-of-self-defense-1855">Defense brings out Duterte speeches with &#x27;exhortation to lawful use of self-defense&#x27;</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH</strong></div><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/8NhRTC6hdgM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that the there is no direct order from the former president to kill the victims of his war on drugs, contrary to what the prosecution alleged.</p>

The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that the there is no direct order from the former president to kill the victims of his war on drugs, contrary to what the prosecution alleged.

Defense argues no direct order from Duterte to kill victims, no direct line to 'co-perpetrators'

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Defense argues no direct order from Duterte to kill victims, no direct line to 'co-perpetrators'

Rose Carmelle Lacuata,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 26, 2026 07:44 PM PHT

|

Updated February 26, 2026 09:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

ICC

International Criminal Court

The Hague

confirmation of charge

Duterte sa ICC

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