Kin of drug war victims fear retaliation if Duterte returns to PH — lawyer

Families of drug war victims are afraid of possible retaliation from the Duterte family and their supporters should former President Rodrigo Duterte be allowed to return to the country, ICC assistant to counsel Atty. Kristina Conti said Thursday.

“Kinatatakutan ‘yan ng mga biktima. Dahil sa hindi lang influential ‘yung Duterte family, but also, they have all the capacity to get back at them,” Conti said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(That is what the victims fear. Because not only is the Duterte family influential, but they also have all the capacity to retaliate against them.)

“Doon sila natatakot eh na, kumbaga, reresbakan sila, lalo na nakapangalan na ‘yung iba sa kanila bilang witnesses. At kumbaga, nasa publiko na na maraming nag-apply bilang biktima sa kaso niya,” she added.

(That is what they are afraid of, that they might be retaliated against, especially since some of them have already been named as witnesses. And in a way, it is now public knowledge that many have applied as victims in his case.)

This came after Duterte’s counsel, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, asked the Marcos administration to allow his return to the country if their request for interim release is granted.

Duterte, 80, has been in ICC custody since March to face charges for crimes against humanity over his administration’s war on drugs. 

In August, he reiterated his request to the ICC for an interim release to an undisclosed country "subject to any conditions deemed appropriate."

Conti said they suspect the country to be a “member state of the ICC.”

“Eh, ‘yung Pilipinas, hindi na nga member state, wala pang agreement. Ano ang pinanghahawakan ng ICC na hindi niya papakawalan o papatakasin ‘yung detainee na ‘yan,” she said.

(But the Philippines is no longer a member state, and there’s not even an agreement. What will the ICC hold on to as assurance that they won’t release or let that detainee escape?)

The international tribunal previously announced that the confirmation of charges hearing for Duterte's crimes against humanity case was postponed after the latter’s camp said that he was “not fit to stand trial.” 

The hearing was initially set for September 23.

Government records showed that around 6,200 drug suspects were killed while human rights organizations say that numbers reach up to 30,000 due to unreported related slays.—AOL, GMA Integrated News