The Tamesis
April 24, 2026
Manila – Former President Rodrigo Duterte, the “punisher” whose tough-on-crime approach led to thousands of deaths, will eventually face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Just a day after the court upheld jurisdiction over his case, the three-member Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I unanimously affirmed all murder and attempted murder charges against Duterte as crimes against humanity for allegedly creating the Davao Death Squad (DDS) and controlling the “Davao model” of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
The former Philippine leader will face a trial chamber whose members will be appointed by the ICC president. The date has not yet been announced.
In a 50-page decision released on Thursday, the PTC I found that evidence provided by key witnesses and government records showed there was sufficient reason to hold Duterte “criminally responsible” for the 49 alleged killings involving 78 people.
The killings were listed in a document containing the charges submitted to PTC I by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (OTP). Details such as the identities, dates and manner of their murders have been redacted for security reasons.
The department took heed of Duterte’s public instructions to police to shoot drug offenders and reward them for each successful kill as a way to deter crime.
It rejected the defense’s argument during last February’s confirmation hearing that his inflammatory language was not a “refined policy” to murder suspected drug users and dealers.
“The Chamber noted that references to self-defense and lawful conduct contained in many public speeches and official documents were also contained in the same speeches and official documents, including explicit instructions to commit unlawful killings,” PTC I noted.
It added: “These incidents were also fabricated at a time when extrajudicial killings were allegedly being carried out and the direct perpetrators were allegedly receiving financial rewards for the killings.”
Regarding the defense’s argument that the word “neutralize” in Philippine National Police Command Memorandum Circular (CMC) No. 16-2016 means “lawful restraint” and not a policy of killing, PTC I said: “There is sufficient evidence to prove that ‘neutralize’ means ‘kill’ in this case.”
The chamber also found sufficient evidence from the prosecution to prove that DDS was Duterte’s brainchild. The report said he had overseen the operations since their inception in the late 1980s “with the intent of killing criminals.”
Citing evidence provided by “Witness P-0002,” PTC I noted that Duterte was at the top of the DDS hierarchy, and below him were accomplices who forwarded his marching orders to handlers, who in turn assigned low-level police officers or private hit men to carry out the killings.
“They also explained that DDS members need orders or permission from Mr. Duterte to carry out killings in Davao City,” the chamber said.
This “joint plan” was originally the “Davao model”, which Duterte ordered when he took office in 2016 and was replicated nationwide through the Philippine National Police’s “Double Barrel Plan”.
Copy “Kill”
“This is also supported by internal witness accounts [REDACTED] “He described how some accomplices discussed how Mr. Duterte could replicate the killings in Davao City across the country,” PTC I said. [REDACTED] Mr Duterte asked after being elected President of the Philippines [REDACTED] To identify a PNP agent who can take the Davao model to the national level. “
Prosecutors have also named eight other former and current officials they say are part of a “hierarchy” in the brutal drug war, but their links to the alleged crimes do not mean they are automatically charged in the same cases as Duterte.
They are Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go; former Attorney General Vitaliano Aguirre II; former Davao City Police Chiefs Vicente Danao and Isidro Lapeña; former PNP Chairmans Oscar Albayalde and Camilo Cascolan; and former National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Guillen.
The chamber said Duterte “provided personnel and logistical resources to further the commission of the crime.”
In its decision to confirm all charges against Duterte, the chamber noted that it was critical that the charges not contain “unnecessary details that may be too specific and restrictive at trial,” as the chamber could not “conclusively determine all such details,” including the time, place and identity of victims of the drug war.
“Strange assertion”
Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s top lawyer, told the Inquirer that it was “bizarre” that PTC I would take such a flexible approach.
“The defense will certainly seek leave to appeal the (PTC)’s bizarre assertion that, and I quote, ‘the charges unnecessarily include unnecessary details that may be too specific and restrictive at trial.’ To me, this just shows the extent to which the (PTC) is prepared to accommodate the prosecution at the expense of the former president’s right to a fair trial,” Kaufman said in a message.
The OTP said in a statement to reporters that the chamber’s decision “reflects the strength and depth of the prosecution’s investigation and evidentiary record.”
“The confirmation of these charges is an important milestone in the Office’s efforts to promote accountability for victims of extrajudicial killings and other abuses,” the statement said.
Lawyers representing the victims and their families praised the ruling. Human rights lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, who have been co-legal representatives for the victims, called the ruling “the first step for victims to seek justice for their murdered loved ones in Mr. Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.”
“(It) sends a strong message to the international community that the international criminal justice system is working hard to pursue criminal accountability, even against former presidents like the accused Mr. Duterte,” they said in a statement.
Human rights violators should be warned
Neri Colmenares of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), which represents some of the victims’ families, said this would be a warning to human rights violators that “no matter how long they wait, justice will come”.
“Duterte, one of the most powerful presidents in the world at the time, who orchestrated a six-year war on drugs and even had entire governments follow his orders to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, is now in a prison in The Hague and will become the first Asian to be tried at the International Criminal Court,” he said in a statement.
He added: “This monumental collapse is a message that will ring throughout the world and is a message that international justice and accountability can be achieved by uniting people who, despite the odds, insist on fighting for justice and accountability.”
The presidential palace said it respects the ruling against the former president.
“Justice must be achieved in these cases. Both sides benefit: justice for the defendants if they are innocent, and justice for the victims if their rights have been violated,” palace press officer Claire Castro said in a message to reporters. –Reporting by Dexter Cabalza
