Who counts as a victim in Rodrigo Duterte trial? ICC Registry asks Trial Chamber's guidance

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – The Victims Participation and Reparation Section (VPRS) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Registry is asking Trial Chamber III for guidance on reassessing the applications of drug war victims, following the approved scope of the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a public redacted report dated October 29, the VPRS said at least 13 of 251 applications previously authorized during the pre-trial phase, representing 16 of 539 victims who will participate in the trial, now appear to fall outside the case’s scope.

It may be recalled that Trial Chamber III previously decided to apply “temporal parameters” to the confirmed charges against Duterte, which led to the removal of Incident 57 that the Office of the Prosecutor had applied for.

The Chamber has ruled that two categories of victims fall within the scope of the Duterte case: (1) victims of murders or attempted murders committed in or around Davao City between 1 November 2011 and 30 June 2016, and (2) victims of murders or attempted murders committed anywhere in the Philippines between 30 June 2016 and 16 March 2019 during his administration’s war on drugs.

Noting the chamber’s decision, the Registry specified that “unless instructed otherwise”, the VPRS will assess applications related to murders and attempted murders that fall outside the scope as “Group B”, or applications that do not clearly qualify as victims.

Those who clearly qualify as victims are categorized in Group A, but the exact number now remains unclear because of the new Registry report.

Meanwhile, applicants for whom the Registry could not make a clear determination for any reason are placed in Group C.

Murders beyond Davao and missing victims

The Registry has also asked Trial Chamber III to decide on several categories of Group C applications.

It seeks guidance on whether the temporal scope includes murders committed in June 2016, as is the case of eight applications that relate to allegations of murders committed in other Philippine locations other than Davao City in the same month.

The Registry also raised the second category of cases involving people who disappeared under circumstances allegedly consistent with drug-war killings.

One applicant reported harm arising from the disappearance of a direct victim, but the VPRS said it remains unclear whether such cases can legally be treated as murder in the absence of proof of death.

In the example cited in the filing, the direct victim has been missing for “more than 10 years.”

The Registry asked judges whether it may rely on a presumption of death in assessing such applications and, if so, what period of disappearance should be sufficient.

“Indirect victims” who witnessed part of crimes

Another clarification the Registry seeks concerns the “distinct category” of indirect victims, those who witnessed “part of the conduct” of crimes, or those with a “pre-existing relationship” to the victim other than a family bond.

One application that the VPRS received was submitted by “a neighbor” who “personally observed the alleged perpetrators proceeding towards the victim’s house” and had heard “several consecutive gunshots”.

The incident caused the applicant’s suffering of “immense fear and trauma [...] from any loud noises and bangs,” the Registry noted.

“In particular, the VPRS notes that the applicant did not witness the killing itself but observed events leading up to it and heard the gunshots. These events may constitute a continuous and closely connected sequence, in time and place, through which the applicant directly perceived the crime as it unfolded.”

Children born after the crimes

Another application was submitted on behalf of a child born three years and six months after the alleged crime in which a relative was killed.

The Registry said the application described the impact on the child of the “psychological and material harm suffered by the family in relation to the murder.”

It asked whether children born into families that continue to experience “significant and ongoing negative consequences” from an alleged crime should themselves be recognized as indirect victims.

More applications expected

The Registry said it received 46 complete applications, comprising 96 individuals, filed as Group A and four others classified as Group C in the latest batch.

It also acknowledged that the number of applications received so far “remains low compared with both the number of WoD [war on drugs] victims and the projected number of victim applications set out in the VPRS Update and Forecast.”

Among the factors cited were VPRS’ difficulties directly assisting victims with applications and limited human and financial resources “in light of multiple competing assignments/situations.”

More applications may still reach the court. The Registry said it is “provisionally planning” another Group A transmission before the trial begins and could continue forwarding applications during the case.

The ICC’s trial of Duterte for crimes against humanity is scheduled to begin on November 30.—LDF, GMA News