TRANSCRIPT: ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang's opening statements
Former president Rodrigo Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court has begun.
On Feb. 23, ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said that Duterte played a "pivotal" role in the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and users, first as mayor of Davao City, then as president. Meanwhile, defense attorney Nicholas Kaufman maintained that Duterte is innocent.
In case you missed the first pre-trial hearing, below is a transcript of Niang's opening statement.
Madame President, honorable member of the bench, all those following these proceedings inside the courtroom and outside, and especially those in the Philippines—today marks an important day for international justice for the people of the Philippines, for the victims and for this court. The commencement of the confirmation hearing against Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is a reminder of the court's unwavering commitment to its mission to investigate and prosecute individuals for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to bring justice to the thousands of victims of the mass crimes and atrocities perpetrated in the Philippines. It is also a reminder that those in power are not above the law.
Your Honors, over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, I will provide an overview of the evidence in this case that demonstrates that Mr. Duterte is responsible for the charged crimes. And my team will then develop aspects of this evidence in more detail.
This case before you today, it is before you today because there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible for those three counts of murder just spelled out, attempted murder, as crimes against humanity. These charged crimes were committed during the time within the court's jurisdiction, which is between 1st of November 2011 and 16th of March 2019. At first, they were committed in and around Davao City, where Mr. Duterte was a mayor, and then expanded across the rest of the Philippines when he became president.
Mr. Duterte is charged with 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder of 78 victims, including children. These murders and attempted murders were part of a widespread and systematic attack that overall resulted in the killings of thousands of civilians across the country during the relevant timeframe. Thus, the charged incidents are merely a fraction of the overall criminality that resulted from Mr. Duterte's so-called war on drugs.
What is Mr. Duterte's core contribution? Your Honour, Mr. Duterte played a pivotal role in the commission of the charged crimes. His contribution was essential as he was at the very heart of the common plan to use his words to neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines, including through murders. The victim included individuals associated with or perceived to be associated with drugs. One of the first things Mr. Duterte did when he became mayor of Davao back in 1988 was create the infamous Davao Death Squad, otherwise known as DDS. As you will have seen from the prosecution pre-confirmation brief, Mr. Duterte personally instructed death squad members that their mission was to kill criminals, unsuspected criminals, including drug users and dealers, also referred to as drug pushers. The death squads carried out this mission well into the charge period through 2011 to 2016, perpetrating the crimes charged in Count 1.
Your Honour, Mr. Duterte's criminal plan and his intent were no secret. He not only shared them with his co-perpetrators and members of the death squad, but also made them abundantly clear to the general public in the numerous public statements that he made time and again. During his presidential campaign, Mr. Duterte explicitly vowed to implement the common plan to neutralize alleged criminals nationwide if elected. This was his program to be elected. He publicly announced his intention to eradicate corruption, criminality, and drugs in three to six months. And this is what he said. I quote, "If I become the president, I will order the military and the police to hunt down the drug lords, the big ones, and kill them." That's what he said. And this can be found at the top 12 of the prosecution list of material. Similarly, when speaking about druggies, I quote, in a televised interview in 2015, this is again what he said, "If I become president, you will all get wiped out. I will order your execution within 24 hours." That's what he said. That I quote directly from his work. And this quote can be found at 19.2 of the prosecution list of materials ARNPHL-OTP-401684, page 003, and lines 82 and 83.
And elected he was. And becoming president on 30th of June 2016, this provided him with the opportunity to follow through with his promise and to expand extrajudicial killings of alleged criminals beyond Davao and across the rest of the Philippines. He did this through the implementation of the National Anti-Illegal Drug Campaign, better known as Duterte's War on Drugs and its project, Double Barrel.
This was carried out by the national network consisting of law enforcement personnel working together with non-police assets and hitmen. Mr. Duterte authorized murder and personally selected some of the targets. During the mayoral period, when he was mayor, his clearance was required for the DDS to carry out the killings. Essentially, members of the DDS needed Mr. Duterte's green light to murder.
And during the presidential period, Mr. Duterte has continued to personally identify some of the targets, including by publicly naming those he claimed were involved in illegal drug trade or in other forms of criminality. He also identified targets by holding up a list containing their name. If you are on the list, you will be killed. And this was the word of one prosecution witness. And this evidence can be found at tab 54 of the prosecution list of materials. 486 page 0009 and the lines the relevant lines are 260 2261.
Mr. Duterte provided moral and financial support to the direct perpetrators as well. In a 12 December 2016 speech, Mr. Duterte admitted that he used to ride around Davao on a motorcycle looking for trouble so he could kill, and he said—and this again, his own words I'm quoting here—"In Davao, I used to do it personally just to show the guy that if I can do it why can't you?" And these are his own words and this court can be found at tab 16.1 of the prosecution list of material ARNPHL-OTP00015547 at 0002 lines 7 and 8.
The evidence shows that Mr. Duterte's Davao City Mayor's office provided some members of the DDS with a regular salary. Financial rewards were also given to direct perpetrators in the form of cash per head for killing. And at a press conference in 2013, Mr. Duterte stated that, shoot-to-kill orders and reward are, and I quote him, are "legitimate tools of government to fight lawlessness." This is his own word. "And if he surrenders to me or his carcass dead, then I double the price." And again, yeah, and that was what he boasted. This code can be found at tab 17.2 of the prosecution list of materials, ARNPHL-OTP-00094932 at 0002, and the relevant lines are line 7 to 11.
The deaths of drug personalities killed in anti-drug operations were endorsed by Mr. Duterte's administration and listed as official accomplishments in public reporting. Your Honours, as you will have seen from our pre-confirmation brief, Mr. Duterte also provided the direct perpetrators with weapons, ammunition, and logistical support to facilitate the commission of the charged crime. And he also had control, wide control over those crimes. And let me now turn specifically to that control. As mayor of Davao and later as president of the Philippines, Mr. Duterte wielded ultimate influence and authority over the physical perpetrators of the crimes.
As mayor, Mr. Duterte was chief executive of the Davao city government with responsibility for exercising general supervision and control over all its activities. He had formal operational supervision and control of a national police unit in Davao. As creator and head of the DDS, he also had de facto control over the death squad members.
When Mr. Duterte became president on the 30th of June 2016, he sat at the very apex of the political power structure in the Philippines. He became the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. He also became the leader of the country's police forces. This level of authority allowed him to wield the jury and de facto control over those implementing the common plan nationwide.
Mr. Duterte's control over the crime is also apparent from his ability to interrupt their commission when he so chooses. And as outlined in our pre-confirmation brief, he successfully suspended police anti-illegal drug operations on two occasions following public outcries in response to particularly notorious killings. On both occasions, the number of reported killings dropped significantly during the suspension, showcasing his control. So when he asked people to act, they act. When he asked them to refrain, they do so. They obliged.
So Mr. Duterte was well aware of the authority he had over the perpetrators in a speech given to the National Bureau of Investigation in November 2016, he expressly acknowledged his position of power and this is what he said to the military, "I am commander-in-chief on the civilian side, I am the chief executive of the government." And when talking about the police, this is what he's saying. "They are my subordinate and I am ultimately responsible for their deeds." And these are quotations. And they can be found at tab 131.2 of our prosecution list of materials at ARNPHL-OTP-00095679, page 0004, and the relevant lines are from 131 to 134.
And the direct perpetrators complied with Duterte's order and respected his authority. Mr. Duterte was respected by the physical perpetrators. He was feared and his order and instruction were obeyed. One insider witness explicitly says that the police killed, and I quote, "Because of the directive of the president." This is what the witness said, an insider. And this quote can be found at tab 120 of the prosecution list of material, ARNPHL-OTP-00088631-R01, page 66. And the relevant lines are from 2304 to 2306.
And this statement is corroborated by other statements we have also provided. And some direct perpetrators complied because of their blind loyalty to Mr. Duterte. Some did it out of fear, and others were encouraged to comply by promises of money and rewards. For some, killing reaches the level of a perverse form of competition, with effort to attain killing quotas, which in turn would lead to promotions and rewards. Others felt there was no other choice but to comply, with one insider explaining that it was "simply not possible to not obey Mr. Duterte's command." And this is also from an insider witness. And this evidence can be found at tab 51 of the Procurement List of Materials, OTP-0015403 at page 0008 to 0009 and the relevant line here is from 240 to 245.
Direct perpetrators were further emboldened to commit crime by Mr. Duterte's repeated promises of immunity. In various public statements, Mr. Duterte vowed to protect the police involved in killing. And this is what he said. "For as long as there is a power to pardon in the Constitution, that's my weapon against crime. If you massacre 100 and there are 100 of you, then you will all be pardoned, restored to full political and civil rights, plus a promotion to good. It's like that, especially the high profile." And this quote can be found at tab 130.2 of the protection list of materials at ARNPHL-OTP and 50336 at page 0010.
Such statements reassure the physical perpetrators. One insider described that he felt confident to continue killing people because he knew that he wouldn't be arrested for that. And this evidence can be found at tab 38 of the prosecution list of material, at page 0005 and relevant lines are from 130 to 131.
Your Honours, let me now say a few words about the contextual elements. The 78 murders and attempted murders that Mr. Duterte is charged with in this case were not random. These were not random crimes, nor were they spontaneous or happened in isolation. Rather, the evidence demonstrates that they were part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population of the Philippines. The murders and attempted murders were carried out across the Philippines and over a substantial period of time.
Overall, Duterte's so-called war on drugs resulted in the killings of thousands of civilians from the 1st of November 2011 to the 16th of March 2019, and many of these victims [were] children. The [victims] of extrajudicial killing charge in this case were brutally murdered, some after having been abducted and mistreated. Unlike Mr. Duterte, who is represented by his counsel here today, they were deprived of any form of due process. The loss of every single one of these victims had the most profound impact on their families, their friends, and ultimately their communities.
Their suffering was met not merely with Mr. Duterte's indifference but with his mocking. In a 25 July 2016 speech, he expressly made fun of the iconic photograph portraying the partner of an extrajudicial killing victim, cradling his body, which is now visible on our screen. While the specific incident portrayed in this photograph is not charged in this case, Mr. Duterte's comment on it is demonstrative of his attitude towards the victims. In reference to this photo, Mr. Duterte, this is what he said.
"Those of you who are still sober, those who haven't tried illegal drugs, if you don't want to die or get hurt, don't rely on the priest, including human rights advocates. They won't be able to prevent death, so don't do it. And then, there you are, sprawled on the ground and you are portrayed in a broadsheet like Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ. That's how they are creating dramas here."This is what he said. And this quote can be found at tab 128 of the prosecution list of material at ernphl-OTP-50335, page 0008.
And, of course, the question of whether Mr. Duterte had knowledge and intent, of course, goes without saying. Your Honours, Mr. Duterte intended and knew that the charged crimes were occurring or that they would occur in the ordinary course of events that he had set in place and put in motion. His intent and knowledge are shown by the multiple statements he made throughout his mayoral and presidential tenure promising to reduce crimes by killing alleged criminals, promoting the common plan, and urging police and even [members] of the public kill alleged criminals.
As details in the prosecution pre-confirmation brief and as your honor will hear in the course of my team's presentation, Mr. Duterte also made statements directly acknowledging allegations of extrajudicial killings by his subordinates and issued a written order showing he knew about the crimes they committed. Your Honour, the prosecution relies on significant and varied sources of evidence to demonstrate that substantial ground exists to believe that Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible for the crimes. This evidence includes multiple witness statements, including insider witnesses. It includes many speeches of Mr. Duterte himself, as well as the statement of his co-perpetrators. It also includes orders and other documents signed by himself. The prosecution further relies on official government documents, including material from the Philippine National Police. It relies on drug watch lists, on audio and video material, as well as on forensic and financial evidence.
Your Honors, during the prosecution's subsequent presentation, my colleague will elaborate on some of these core evidence in more detail. Mr. [Julian] Nicholls will give a presentation on Mr. Duterte's background, followed by an overview of the evidence demonstrating his responsibility for the crime charged in count one. This will be followed by the presentation of Mr. [Edward] Jeremy behind me, who will speak about the evidence demonstrating Mr. Duterte's responsibility as President for the crime charge in Count 2 entry. And Ms. [Robynne] Croft, on my left, will then elaborate on the contextual element of crime against humanity and the model of liability through which Mr. Duterte is responsible for the crimes alleged in this case.
And to conclude, Madam President, Your Honor, while this court cannot reunite victim[s] with their loved one[s], it can help reveal the truth about what happened to them and bring a sense of justice to the victim. The charge before you today are serious and the evidence submitted require their confirmation and Mr. Duterte must be held to account and this case should be confirmed for trial. I thank you very much.
