MANILA, Philippines — “How can you prove systematic killing of 30,000 victims if you do not have the names of 30,000 victims?”
Vice President Sara Duterte posed this question in an interview at The Hague, Netherlands on Friday, regarding her father’s crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for killings said to have been committed during his war on drugs.
The vice president pointed to the ICC warrant, which alleged Rodrigo Duterte’s involvement in the murder of 19 persons by the Davao Death Squad and 24 persons across the country by Philippine law enforcement.
“[W]here is the system there of killing thousands? No, no. Sorry, bobo yung abogado nila (their lawyer is inept),” the vice president said.
ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti hit back in a statement on Saturday, saying “VP Sara has an incredible platform and huge opportunity to raise the level of the discussion to more than this. This is a simplistic view that may convince some, but unfortunately, not the court.”
Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines “crimes against humanity” as “acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.”
READ: Duterte’s ICC arrest: Separating fact from lies
Conti cited the case of Congolese militia leader Boso Ntaganda, who was found guilty by the ICC in 2019 for 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity.
The ICC decision in the Ntaganda case read, “The term ‘widespread’ has been understood to mean that the attack is large-scale in nature and targeted at a large number of persons. Such an attack may be ‘massive, frequent, carried out collectively with considerable seriousness and directed against a multiplicity of victims.’”
“The assessment of whether the attack is widespread is neither exclusively quantitative nor geographical, but must be carried out on the basis of all the relevant facts of the case,” it added.
Conti added, “I had expected Rodrigo Duterte’s defense to be more sophisticated and sagacious, considering the amount of money their camp is spending on lawyers. I look forward to better and sharper discourse with VP Sara, as well as Duterte supporters.”
READ: ‘181 items’: ICC prosecutor’s body of evidence vs Duterte
Government data said 6,000 people died during Duterte’s drug war, but human rights watchdogs placed the death toll between 12,000 and 30,000.
The former president was arrested on March 11 and taken into ICC custody, making his first appearance before the international tribunal on March 14.
His confirmation of charges hearing was set for September 23, 2025.
On Tuesday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan turned over evidence to Duterte’s defense team.
The evidence supposedly consisted of 181 items said to implicate Duterte in the charges.