Duterte at ICC: Expert report on 'systemic practice' of EJKs sought for admission

THE HAGUE — In a latest filing to admit prior recorded statements and materials as evidence, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors seek to include reports of three expert witnesses, one of whom states a “systemic practice” of extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency.

In its eleventh Rule 68(3) application, released publicly on November 4, the Office of the Prosecutor stated that the expert reports of P-1162, P-1071, and P-1078 are “relevant, reliable, and probative”, and not prejudicial to Duterte’s rights.

One of the experts, identified in the filing as P-1162, analyzed fatality patterns in anti-drug operations and found that the scale of killings could not plausibly be explained by legitimate self-defense.

His analysis compared the number of suspects killed and wounded, police officers killed, and the number of anti-illegal drug operations. It also compared Philippine figures with national, regional and international data, with particular focus on Bulacan.

Prosecutors said that P-1162 noted that the ratios between suspects and police officers killed “provide a compelling evidentiary basis to conclude that a vast majority of these encounters were staged to mask targeted killings, representing a systemic practice of extrajudicial execution rather than legitimate law enforcement.”

Expert report: Duterte-era police killings “extreme and a statistical outlier”

In his expert report, P-1162 also described police use of deadly force during Duterte’s presidency as “extreme and a statistical outlier,” even when compared with “jurisdictions notorious for violent policing.”

P-1162’s addendum also compares Duterte-era deaths with baseline figures from the presidencies of Benigno Aquino III and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The expert found, the filing says, that the number of deaths under Duterte “significantly exceed the number that would be expected having regard to the respective baselines.”

The prosecution is seeking to introduce two datasets compiled by P-1162, materials supplied to him by prosecutors, other sources he relied on, and previous reports he authored.

Two academics called in as expert witnesses

Meanwhile, the prosecutors described P-1071 and P-1078 as “widely published and recognized” academics.

The two experts, also included on the ICC Registry’s List of Experts, have “extensive experience testifying as expert witnesses in litigation,” although their field of expertise and litigation experience are currently unknown in the public document.

The filing states that the joint expert report of P-1071 and P-1078 comprises associated materials, including items “letters of instruction”, as well as other undisclosed items provided for by the prosecution, which have been “directly reviewed, relied upon, and cited by” the two experts. The collection also has other materials collected and disclosed by the prosecution, but not provided to the two expert witnesses.

“The Joint Expert Report and its associated material will assist the Chamber in its determination of the truth,” the filing stated. Prosecutors are also asking the Chamber to allow P-1071 and P-1078 to appear for focused supplementary questioning on discrete parts and topics covered by the report.

The prosecution has requested an undisclosed number of hours, divided “as necessary,” for the supplementary examination of P-1071 and P-1078 to expedite the proceedings and allow time for questioning by Duterte’s defense, the Common Legal Representatives for Victims, and the Chamber.

This filing—the eleventh for Rule 68(3), and the latest to be released publicly—is the fourteenth overall in a series of Rule 68(2)(b) and Rule 68(3) applications made by the Office of the Prosecutor in its bid to shorten the proceedings of what are expected to be lengthy presentations during Duterte’s trial.

The former president will go on trial at the ICC for crimes against humanity on November 30. — BM, GMA News

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