Pulong Duterte brands ICC process ‘pretense’

Davao City Rep. Paolo ‘Pulong’ Duterte

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — As his father’s legal fate is being weighed at the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is conducting a confirmation of charges hearing since Monday, Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte sought to discredit the process.

“(From) February 23 (to February) 28, the International Criminal Court will once more pretend it is dispensing justice—this time through a so-called ‘confirmation of charges’ hearing against former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. If it is justice that they are after, they should have asked themselves first—do they have jurisdiction?” Duterte asked, in a statement circulated on Monday.

The statement used a mix of English, Filipino and Bisaya.

“(The) last time we checked, the Philippines already left the Rome Statute. But apparently, at the ICC, sovereignty is optional, depending on who is the target. I don’t believe in the ICC, because it is a court that reeks of politics,” Duterte added.

Duterte was referring to the country’s withdrawal from the Statute that became effective on March 17, 2019, upon the instance of the former president while he was in office.

The younger Duterte claims that behind his father’s current predicament are foreign powers out to impose their “moral superiority” over “leaders who refuse to bow, refuse to be lectured, and refuse to play nice with Western interests.”

“Former President Duterte did not govern for foreign approval. He governed for Filipinos—especially those who lived in fear long before air-conditioned courtrooms started moralizing from thousands of kilometers away,” he added.

He also claims that his father’s legal fate “is being held hostage because of the (upcoming presidential) candidacy of my sister,” referring to the declared intent of Vice President Sara Duterte to seek the presidency in 2028.

Countdown to justice

In other parts of Mindanao, the first day of the confirmation of charges hearings confirmed the deep divide among its people along political loyalties.

But for those advocating accountability for human rights abuses during the older Duterte’s war on drugs, Monday’s hearing was already a countdown to justice.

Pat Jared Pangantihon, a climate justice advocate in Northern Mindanao, said he was impressed by the “dispassionate and unambiguous method” of the prosecution. “The playing of the video clips where Duterte openly admits to having a hand in the extrajudicial killings… blatantly shows a person who sees himself above and beyond the law,” he said.

“For indigenous peoples, the ICC proceedings signify that state power is not beyond accountability—and they strengthen our demand for justice for communities harmed by Duterte’s militarist policies,” Fr. Raymond Ambray, Convenor of the Save Our Schools Network, said. “Accountability for Duterte strengthens the call for justice in Mindanao. The struggle against impunity continues.”

Jessiemer Loi Algarme, station manager at Juander Radyo-Cagayan de Oro, highlighted that the climate of fear during the war on drugs extended to advocates of truth and human rights who fell victim to red-tagging. “I will be happier if this (charge) is confirmed after the pre-trial and proceeds to a full trial so that justice is fully served,” Algarme said.

But for many, the stance of the former president’s lead counsel, Nicolas Kaufman, did not escape criticism.

Human rights lawyer Dexter Lopoz, whose brother was murdered during the drug war, condemned the defense’s arguments as “troll-level” scripts that offered “nothing new.”

Pandering to DDS

Lopoz emphasized that the ICC was created specifically to run after impunity, adding that the intense trolling surrounding the case only proves that a fair trial in domestic courts remains impossible.

Lawyer Tiburcio Palasan, Jr., a former Duterte campaigner in Cagayan de Oro City, dismissed the defense’s efforts as meant “to please the DDS (Duterte Diehard Supporters) crowd.”

Palasan had characterized the drug war as a farce, pointing to “the billions of pesos worth of shabu (that) passed our ports” and yet “Customs Commissioners (Nicanor) Faeldon and (Isidro) Lapeña were treated with kid gloves.”

Political commentator Antonio Montalvan, who is currently on self-exile due to threats to his life, noted that “Kaufman [didn’t have] anything to say about evidence but instead resorted to gaslighting and rage-baiting.”

“Kaufman wasn’t talking in a courtroom. It was like he was rabble-rousing a DDS rally in Duterte Street,” Montalvan added. /cb