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MANILA, Philippines — Joel Butuyan, common legal representative of victims in the International Criminal Court proceedings against former president Rodrigo Duterte, delivered an opening statement at the confirmation of charges hearing outlining the concerns of participating victims and urging judges to allow the case to proceed to trial.
In his remarks, Butuyan said victims see the ICC case as their last viable path to justice, raised fears of continuing impunity in the Philippines, and argued that a full trial would help establish a historical record and confront what he described as the human cost of the drug war.
RELATED: Rodrigo Duterte to return as 'hero' who beat ICC if court rejects charges, says lawyer
Below is the transcript.
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Joel Butuyan, common legal representative of the victims
Opening speech
Madam President, Your Honors, by way of an opening statement, we convey the views and concerns of the 497 victims authorized to participate in these proceedings.
At the outset, Your Honors, we communicate the very deep disappointment of the victims at the decision allowing Rodrigo Duterte not to be present in this stage of confirmation of charges. The sight of Mr. Duterte being read and being confronted with the grave and horrible charges against him would have constituted a vital component of justice for the victims in these proceedings.
This case symbolically represents the last boat that the victims can board to go on a journey in search of justice for their loved ones who were brutally killed upon the orders of Mr. Duterte. If this chamber prevents the boat from sailing by not confirming the charges, the victims will forever be moored on an island where the nights are filled with the screams and cries of their massacred loved ones.
There is absolutely no other recourse for the victims. No less than former Philippine Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla admitted just a few months ago that the door to domestic justice is permanently closed for victims of the Duterte extrajudicial killings.
Remulla declared, and we quote: "It is difficult to prove the case here and build up the case, because those who need to speak are involved in the crime. There's nothing, not even a police report. You don't have a scene of the crime, you don't have ballistics, you don't have DNA."
Remulla further declared, and I quote: "Everything that could be erased was erased so that the cases would not push through. That is why this has reached the ICC."
Under the Philippine justice system, Your Honors, no criminal case can reach the courts unless they are initiated and filed by the Department of Justice or the Office of the Ombudsman. Former Justice Secretary Remulla has been appointed as Ombudsman. So the two gatekeepers of justice are successively occupied by a ranking official who has declared that there is absolutely no hope for domestic justice for the victims.
If the charges are not confirmed in this case, one of the gravest concerns of the victims is that Mr. Duterte will return to the Philippines as a conquering hero. He will resume preaching his gospel of impunity.
In fact, if Mr. Duterte could threaten to slap the judges of this court, imagine the kind of terror-filled threats and the violent actions that can easily be used against the victims if the suspect walks free from this court.
If the charges are not confirmed, it is a very serious concern of the victims that Mr. Duterte will be portrayed in history by his multitude of followers as the leader who vanquished the ICC and who cleansed his country of 30,000 rapists, murderers, and dangerous criminals, which were the scornful words he sweepingly used against all those who were killed in his murderous spree.
Your Honors, Mr. Duterte has been in detention here in The Hague for almost a year now, but there has been no peace and rest for the victims. From the time their loved ones were killed and continuously up to this time, they live in constant fear for their lives.
The arrest and detention of Mr. Duterte has not stopped impunity in the Philippines. The virus of impunity that he spread all over the country has become a cancer that has metastasized, infecting millions of Filipinos. Mr. Duterte has created clones of himself. He converted millions of peace-loving citizens into bloodthirsty disciples who have become converts to the belief that violence and killings are valid solutions to societal problems.
The killings masterminded by Mr. Duterte continue to have consequences for the victims, even to this day, because of his clones. These many Dutertes harass, threaten, or commit outright violence against the victims and their families.
As shown by the number of victims participating in this proceeding so far, many still fear to come out and tell their stories of how their lives became a living hell as a result of Mr. Duterte's crimes, and because they are constantly terrified of being targeted with violence by Duterte fanatics.
Many victims have been hesitant to participate in this ICC case because they live in communities that teem with Duterte clones. They see the halls of power of their country teeming with Duterte disciples. They see and hear senators, congresspersons, mayors, governors, and powerful public figures who are mini-Dutertes.
The daughter of Mr. Duterte is the vice president, and she has just recently declared that she is running for president in 2028. One Duterte son is a congressman, another is the Davao City mayor, and his grandchildren occupy positions of power.
The plague of impunity has spread not only among Filipinos in the Philippines, but even among expatriate Filipinos in faraway lands like here in The Hague. When we reported to the victims that we, their external legal representatives, feel like fugitives who avoid our own countrymen here in The Hague because chances are they are Duterte clones, they expressed their utmost concern that if we, their lawyers, feel threatened by mini-Dutertes in a foreign country, we should imagine the far more intense fear they live with every day in their communities teeming with mini-Dutertes.
The victims also wish to convey that if the judges of this honorable chamber can be subjected to online harassment by Duterte clones, we should imagine the level of vulnerability the victims are exposed to in their poor villages.
Your Honors, there is only one solution to stop the impunity propagated by Mr. Duterte from continuing to bring harm and suffering to the victims. And that is for this honorable chamber to confirm the charges so that witnesses can testify and evidence can be presented on the horrible crimes committed by Mr. Duterte.
The testimonies and evidence presented will inoculate these mini-Dutertes from the virus of impunity that has infected them. When they will see and hear the utter cruelty, the sheer brutality, in other words, the brazen inhumanity of the crimes committed by Mr. Duterte and the humanity of those whose lives were violently taken, it will rekindle the embers of humanity that still remain in their hearts.
Many of these mini-Dutertes or Duterte clones are actually victims of massive doses of fake news widely circulated online. They need to be vaccinated with the truth, and the truth vaccine can only come from the testimonies of witnesses of victims and evidence presented in a trial before this court. Truth is the antidote to the virus of impunity, Your Honors.
The victims dread a future where charges are not confirmed in this case. It will mean that the virus of impunity will continue to spread and infect many more. Victims fear that Duterte clones will become an even bigger group that can elect another apostle of impunity as the Philippines' next leader. If that happens, an even more serious condition of impunity can take place in the Philippines, possibly worse than the orgy of violence that happened from 2011 to 2019, and this time there would be no ICC to run to for assistance and help.
The victims humbly beseech this honorable chamber to reaffirm the two crucial objectives of the ICC identified in the Preamble of the Rome Statute. First, to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity. And second, to put an end to impunity and to contribute to the prevention of crimes of unimaginable atrocities.
If this chamber confirms the charges, this court will achieve its first objective of prosecuting and, if convicted, punishing Mr. Duterte for the unspeakable crimes he is charged with. But achieving the first objective will not automatically make this court attain its second objective. Merely putting forward the evidence gathered and the theory of liability of the prosecution will not necessarily resolve the second objective.
This court should allow victims to testify and the record of the proceedings must reflect the harrowing experiences of those impacted by the crimes committed by Mr. Duterte. It is key that the record reflects the brutality, in other words, the utter inhumanity of the crimes masterminded by Mr. Duterte, so that the people who adore and idolize him, the people who have become disciples of impunity, will see for themselves the inhumanity of the suspect. For this to happen, the charges should all be confirmed.
The virus of impunity that has spread all over the Philippines is very grave and serious, Your Honors. Imagine a leader like Mr. Duterte, who proudly and publicly proclaimed his aspirations of following the footsteps of Adolf Hitler when he said, quote, "Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now there are three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them," unquote. And yet, he is worshipped by a huge number of Filipinos.
In so many countries, you will need to hide your adoration of Hitler. Mr. Duterte flaunted it, and his fanatics are unaffected by it. Mr. Duterte has pronounced so many other horrible declarations meant to promote and encourage impunity, as it will be detailed tomorrow by my colleagues. And yet, he is idolized by a multitude of Filipinos.
The defense will claim that he was merely bombastic and acerbic when he made these statements. But if he were merely being pompous and flippant, the people who were killed should be alive and laughing today at his supposed pranks and stunts.
Mr. Duterte did not only order the mass killing of people suspected of being drug personalities, Your Honors, he smeared them with accusations of being rapists, murderers, and dangerous criminals. Mr. Duterte imposed an inflexible condemnation that if you are a drug personality, you are automatically a dangerous criminal who has engaged in unimaginable atrocities.
The families of those killed did not only suffer the loss of a loved one, their families were even disgraced with being associated with a rapist, murderer, or dangerous criminal. Even after their loved ones were murdered, many families were subjected to deplorable injustices.
Instead of gunshot wounds as cause of death in their death certificates, families were shocked to see pneumonia, heart attack, stroke, sepsis, and other false causes of death that were instead written down.
Other families were charged substantial amounts, sums the impoverished families could not afford, just to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones from the funeral parlor, which were suspected by the families of being in cahoots with the police officers. Some family members were even arrested and imprisoned by police officers on false charges and for the purpose of preventing them from complaining.
In one particular incident, Your Honors, a young man and his common-law wife were sleeping in their shanty when men in civilian clothes knocked down the door to their house. The men dragged the wife out of the room. The husband was already surrendering and he even started to strip naked to show he had no drugs or firearm on his body.
He said in the Filipino language, "Sir, I am clean, sir." Translation in English, "Sir, I am clean. I will strip naked, sir."
Still without mercy, the men shot and killed him. After killing the husband, they arrested the wife and accused her with falsified and non-bailable charges. When the deceased's mother and cousin went to the police station to find out what happened to the young man, because they were not at the scene of the crime when it happened, the two were also summarily arrested and charged with fabricated crimes.
If the honorable chamber confirms the charges in this case, the witnesses and evidence will show that those who were smeared by Mr. Duterte before they were killed, they were inside their houses, sleeping peacefully with their families, eating meals with their loved ones, playing with their children or hugging their wives. Others were merely walking along the street, having snacks at the roadside eatery or plying the road earning a poor man's living. They were all doing ordinary, peaceful and plain human activities.
Confirming the charges will restore the dignity of those who were killed and the honor of their families. The prejudice suffered by the families of those killed did not begin and end with the killings of their loved ones. Each killing set off a chain reaction that is continuously churning out a daily crucible of harm, damage and loss.
By masterminding the mass murder of mere suspects, Mr. Duterte has brought irreparable and endless harm to the families. An overwhelming majority of those killed were the sole breadwinners of poor families. These families were dependent on each day's wage for their daily sustenance. They were hand-to-mouth families.
With the death of their breadwinners, the widowed spouses, a majority of whom are women, have had to take on the roles of two parents. On top of taking care of their children and maintaining the household, the widowed spouses now have the additional burden of being breadwinners for their families.
Families have been driven to even far more serious destitution, Your Honors. The damage to the children is immeasurable. Their development and upbringing have been permanently compromised.
They have been walking through life with one missing parental limb. Losing a parent under very dire economic conditions and under the most violent circumstances results in wounds that will never heal and that will absolutely render them handicapped for life.
And then there's the indescribable anguish of parents who lost a child. No parent is supposed to outlive a child. Parents suffer a lifetime of grief when a child dies ahead of them. And the lifetime grief is unimaginably worse when a child dies under the most inhuman circumstances.
The crimes masterminded by Mr. Duterte did not only affect individuals but whole communities. Across the Philippines, numerous urban communities in the most impoverished villages were scarred by the violence and abuses wrought by a lawless anti-drug campaign that further worsened the misery and trauma of residents in marginalized communities.
In one illustrative instance, Your Honor, after the father of a family was killed inside his house by police officers, the entire neighborhood was so traumatized that for almost 3 months, and during the coldest months in the Philippines, they abandoned their houses at night and instead slept in the open public market.
They did not feel secure inside their houses because there would be no witnesses if the police would just barge in and shoot at them. In the public market, the presence of many witnesses they thought would deter the police from shooting and killing them.
It is also the victims' view, Your Honors, that the charges should be confirmed because the resulting presentation of witnesses and evidence during the trial will force police and other law enforcement officers to confront the brazen depravity of the killing of civilians that they either personally committed or allowed to be committed during the Duterte reign of terror.
In one operation, the police summarily killed three men, two brothers and one friend, in the very early morning. The police declared that the three were "nanlaban." They fought back, but the neighbors saw otherwise. The whole neighborhood was so horrified at the macabre treatment of one of the fatalities.
The bullet-ridden body of one of the three men was brought out from the second floor window and dropped to the ground because the police could not bring the body out through the doorway. When the body hit the ground, the neighbors recoiled at hearing the body emit a cry: "Aray!" Translation in English, "Ouch."
The man was still alive when his body was thrown to the ground, and the police just left him to bleed to death. The trial will hold a mirror to the police force and compel them to see how they were turned into executioners and assassins, and their organization transformed into a gigantic criminal organization or turned into a killing machine by Mr. Duterte.
The Philippine National Police and the drug enforcement agencies have not made any initiative to purify the corrupted minds of their officers and personnel, to our knowledge. The trial in this case will be a tremendous teaching opportunity that can work to rectify the warped and depraved minds of Philippine security officers.
The charges need to be confirmed, Your Honors, for the sake of the entire country, which has been desensitized or made numb by the massive incidents of impunity and the glorification of impunity promoted by Mr. Duterte. The whole Philippines needs to know the real story during those bloody years. There has been no opportunity for the entire country to really find out the whole truth of what happened.
It has been hush-hush, take bits of sporadic news and always drowned out by trolls who produce and broadcast false, fake, and fabricated news. The victims also attach a very important historical significance to this case.
If the chamber confirms the charges, the trial proceedings will produce a historical record of the most bloody period of post-war Philippine history, a duty that the Philippine justice system has refused to perform. The historical account on the mass murder of so many Filipinos during the Duterte regime needs to be made accessible to our future generations, just like the Nuremberg trials and the Tokyo trials, so that they will learn from it and not repeat the same mistake of selecting and glorifying leaders who preach and practice impunity.
The prosecution has presented 78 instances of murder and attempted murder, clarifying that these incidents are only representative of the extent of the crimes committed against thousands of civilians. The victims beseech the honorable chamber to remember that Mr. Duterte's bloody rule, both in Davao City and nationwide, resulted in as many as 30,000 victims of killings, more than 300,000 victims of arbitrary imprisonment, and unaccounted numbers of victims of torture, sexual assault, and other forms of crimes against humanity.
For many families in the Philippines, the charges brought for confirmation in these proceedings represent only a fraction of the reality the victims have endured. The victims beseech the honorable chamber to remember the hundreds of thousands of victims who are banking on vicarious justice from this case.
Finally, Your Honors, the victims wish to humbly underline that what is ultimately at stake in these proceedings is the supreme of all forms of human rights, the right to life. The right to life is the very foundation of every civilized society.
The ancestors of every nation fought against invaders, colonizers, despotic monarchs, and fascist leaders in order to secure the right to life of their families, their communities, and future generations. The heroes of every country sacrificed their lives to defend the right to life of their people.
We as citizens of modern societies are inheritors and beneficiaries of the sacrifices of our ancestors who bequeathed to us the right to life. We owe it to them to defend this supreme legacy for our generation and for the generations to come.
For the past few years, Your Honors, we have seen an increasing number of nation leaders who seem to have time-traveled from the dark ages, and now swagger in modern times as if they own people's lives. These brutal and cruel leaders must be held to account for their brazen disregard of humankind's right to life.
Our ancestors fought on the battlefield to secure our right to life. In these modern times, the battleground for the fight to protect our right to life is within the courts. May the God of life, the God of humanity, guide the honorable members of this chamber.
Thank you, Your Honors.
