What evidence did the ICC prosecution present vs Duterte on Day 1?

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MANILA, Philippines — Prosecutors wasted no time in presenting evidence, witness testimonies and interview records on the first day of former president Rodrigo Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

After the prosecution, the victims' legal representatives, and the defense delivered their opening statements on Monday, February 23, Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls of the prosecution began submitting evidence in support of the case before the Pre-Trial Chamber I.

In his presentation on the merits, Nicholls detailed evidence he argued establishes that Duterte founded the Davao Death Squad (DDS), implemented the "Davao Model," and publicly recognized his role.

This model, he said, demonstrates a "chain of command" that begins with Duterte and extends to alleged co-perpetrators, DDS handlers, and down to the very members who carried out the killings. 

"As mayor of Davao, Mr. Duterte promised a crackdown on crime. To quote, 'crackdown on crime and drugs.' Mr. Duterte created liquidation squads, death squads made up of both Davao City police officers as well as non-police officers who essentially hired hitmen and hired killers," he said. 

"The Davao Model was murder, not being tough on crime legally as my friend (Kaufman) said," Nicholls added. 

The co-perpetrators' faces

For the first time in the ICC proceedings, the prosecution unveiled a slide listing five individuals described as co-perpetrators in Duterte's anti-crime drive in Davao City, including Sens. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go. 

The prosecution also named former Davao City police chief Vicente Danao, former National Bureau of Investigation regional director in Davao Dante Gierran, and lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II.

While the specific allegations against the five were not detailed during the first hearing, the slide was presented primarily as an introductory overview of the network Duterte established when he was mayor.

Nicholls instead focused on witness testimonies that, according to the prosecution, show Duterte created the Davao Death Squad.

Duterte 'happy' for death squad's initiation

One testimony he cited came from a former member of the death squad, who said the group was formed in 1988 during a dinner meeting at a hotel in Davao City.

"Mr. Duterte was present, and he openly told the new members of the death squad he was forming that their job was to kill criminals," Nicholls said. 

He referred to Tab 50 and 51, showing evidence that a witness said Duterte never spoke of self-defense in private and personally armed newly recruited DDS members by passing around a basket filled with handguns and ammunition.

"It was celebratory event for Mr. Duterte. The witness explained Mr. Duterte was happy at this dinner meeting. He was laughing and even sprayed a bottle of champagne to celebrate," Nicholls said.

Nicholls then played a clip from Duterte's May 25, 2015 interview on his weekly talk show, "Gikan sa Masa, para sa Masa," in which he admitted to being involved with the Davao Death Squad.

This interview, however, was not the only time Duterte admitted to the death squad's existence. Nicholls cited three other cases, stressing this is in no way hyperbole. 

One of the statements came from a line of questioning between Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Duterte during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's hearing on the anti-illegal drug war campaign in 2024.

The lawyer, however, also noted how Duterte denied that the death squad included police officers. The former president told the Senate panel, "I can make the confession now if you want. I really took care of it. But please, don't involve the police. ... I have a death squad, a death squad, but not the police."

Without using a slide, Nicholls also referenced Duterte's remark at the Senate hearing: “My death squad, Ma’am, of course, it is organized. That is all I can say.”

Death squad needed Duterte's permission

Nicholls then addressed a point raised by Kaufman during his opening statement, in which the defense claimed the prosecution “could not even get one witness to admit” that Duterte gave a kill order.

The senior trial lawyer countered, pointing out how Kaufman had specifically added the qualifier "at any time relevant to the charges or with respect to any of the incidents," referring only to the time period under the ICC's jurisdiction.

In other words, there could be witnesses outside the ICC's timeframe, which led Nicholls to quote another testimony. When a witness was asked if Duterte's daughter, now-Vice President Sara Duterte, ever gave kill orders, the witness said, "Personally, no, but the father, of course, many times."

While the interview took place before 2011, Nicholls believes it "doesn't make much difference" in arguing his case that Duterte did give out kill orders.  

The prosecution introduced four further statements in which witnesses said that decisions on targeting or killing individuals were made by "only one person" — Duterte.

Nicholls also said that aside from having rewarded the death squad members, those who were not police officers managed to earn salaries as "ghost employees" of the Davao City government. 

"They got ID, they received salaries from the City of Davao, they were put on the books, but it was all a ruse because their only job was to kill," he said. "It was Mr. Duterte using the city government and the apparatus to fund his death squad."

Duterte 'watched' killings, did nothing

The prosecution then focused on the killing of three alleged thieves at Agdao Public Market in Davao City around Dec. 4, 2013.

Playing a video that was posted on YouTube, Nicholls showed how Duterte watched CCTV footage of the murder, where three men pulled out their pistols in broad daylight to shoot the victims, and yet took no action.

Nicholls then posed the question that if Duterte is the honest mayor the defense claims he was, one simply trying to solve crime, why was the triple murder case never solved?  

"This triple murder was filmed. Mayor Duterte watched it himself. You can see the perpetrators shooting, committing the crime, yet Mr. Duterte, a former prosecutor, Mr. tough on crime, did not get this triple murder committed in a market in broad daylight with multiple eye witnesses solved," he said.

"Of course not, because it was his murder," the lawyer added. 

Those three hitmen, Nicholls added, were also seen walking away from the crime scene as if unafraid of legal consequences. He argued that this was only possible because Duterte had sanctioned the killings.

Nicholls further demonstrated this using a witness's statement, who said that as long as the killings were "cleared" or authorized, he had no reason to fear prosecution. 

Duterte 'bragged' about the killings

By juxtaposing the "tough guy" image Duterte has made for himself with five clips of him acknowledging and ordering the killings, the prosecution argued that the persona reinforced the pattern of command responsibility and legitimized the use of violence under his watch.

"Not only did Mr. Duterte clearly intend his criminality, he openly bragged about it. Right up until his arrest, he bragged about it. He thrives on a tough guy persona or image that he's tried to create for himself," Nicholls said. 

In an ambush interview on Dec. 8, 2015, Duterte was asked about a human rights group's report claiming he had killed 700 people in Davao City. The former president, who was mayor at the time, said the group had "undercounted" and that the actual number was 1,700.

Nicholls said Duterte did not even attempt to deny in the interview that killings occurred or that he was the one who ordered them. "That's not bluster. That's not hyperbole. That's the truth," he added. 

In a press conference on Nov. 27, 2015, Duterte also boasted that if asked about his credentials to run for president, he would cite Davao as "Exhibit A." He added, "Either I get what I want, or you perish. Let’s be straightforward. What does that mean? That means killings."

The other four clips were from Duterte’s 2016 presidential campaign, in which he explicitly said he would have criminals killed. In one 2015 video from his weekly talk show, he even said he would kill anyone "who makes the lives of Filipinos miserable" if elected president.

In wrapping up his presentation, Nicholls pointed out that Duterte, despite avoiding the court and the victims, cannot deny how he "repeatedly promised to kill people," especially when he was elected president. 

"He said it, he did it, that's who he is. He won the election, became president on June 30, 2016 and did exactly as he said he would," he said. "He murdered thousands of people by taking the Davao Model nationwide."  

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity for murder and attempted murder, covering 49 incidents and at least 76 victims during his tenure as Davao City mayor and later as president.

The confirmation of charges hearings are scheduled to run until February 27, with February 24 set for submissions on the merits of the case by the prosecution and the common legal representatives of the victims.