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In photos: Eve of Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing
THE HAGUE – Despite the absence of former President Rodrigo Duterte in his confirmation of charges hearing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week, the relatives of the victims of extrajudicial killings said there’s no going back, even if it takes a toll on their mental health.
The grieving relatives, along with groups critical of Duterte and his family, gathered in front of the ICC on Sunday to exact justice for thousands of drug war victims.
A protester donned a mask of former President Rodrigo Duterte as part of a skit presented by the Duterte Panagutin Network-Europe during its demonstration in front of the ICC on Sunday. Photo: Andy Peñafuerte III
Anti-Duterte groups brandished placards that called for accountability in the extrajudicial killings. The program included speeches from various group representatives from the Duterte Panagutin Network-Europe, as well as a solidarity rally and song number in commemoration of the thousands of people who died during Duterte’s drug war. Photo: Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan
Duterte absent from the hearing? “We don’t give a damn”
Llore Pasco’s sons, Crisanto and Juan, were killed at the height of the drug war in May 2017. For her, it doesn’t matter that the victims won’t see Duterte in the hearing.
“Makita man natin siya o hindi, wala kaming pake. Kasi ang point naman namin ay matuloy [yung charge confirmation hearing] at hindi kontrahin ng ICC. Baka mamaya, mag-appeal na naman itong si Kaufman nang kung anu-ano,” said Pasco.
(Whether we see him or not, we don’t give a damn because our point is for the charge confirmation hearing to proceed and not be postponed by the ICC. Because we worry that Duterte’s counsel Atty. Nicholas Kaufman might appeal again.)
Pasco also pointed out the irony of Duterte and his camp claiming to be victims and benefiting from due process while in detention.
“Ang ganda ng kanyang kulungan, alaga siya ng mga doctor. Kaya nakikiusap po kami sa international at Filipino community na suportahan kami—ang mga biktima sa laban namin. Kahit matagal, masalimuot, at mahirap ay hindi po kami sumusuko. Katulad nung sabi ni Duterte na siya ay matanda at napapagod na. Bakit ako? Matanda na rin po ako. Pero hindi ako napapagod para kamtan ang hustisya, hindi lang para sa ating mga anak, Kundi para sa buhay at Karapatan ng lahat ng mga biktimang kanyang pinaslang.”
(His detention cell is decent, and he’s taken care of by doctors. That’s why we appeal to the international and Filipino community to support us—the true victims in this fight. Even if this has been long, complicated, and arduous, we’ve never given up. Like what Duterte said that he’s ‘old, tired, and frail’—look at me, I’m also old. But I will never grow tired of calling for justice, not just for our children, but for the lives and rights of the victims he killed.) Photo: Andy Peñafuerte III
“It’s been almost 10 years since my brother was killed,” Sheerah Escudero, now 29 years old, recalled her brother, Ephraim, who was found wrapped in packaging tape in September 2017. He was a suspected victim of Duterte’s war on drugs.
One year shy of his brother’s death, Escudero had been told by lawyers that finding justice “might take a long time.”
Now, Escudero is in The Hague to attend the ICC’s hearing against Duterte.
“But we’re still here, we’re still fighting. I’m still with Nanay Llore and the other nanays. Ang sabi ko, ‘Ang haba na po ng nilakbay natin, ngayon pa ba tayo susuko? So, there’s no going back even if it’s taking a toll na rin sa mental health, sa kabuhayan,” she said.
(I told them, ‘We’ve come so far, and are we going to quit now? There’s no going back, even if it takes a toll on our mental health and livelihoods.)
Ever since the untimely death of their loved ones, Escudero said she and the relatives of other drug war victims have been trying to live a normal life. Yet, for her, “we’ll never get to experience it because of this.”
“Duterte stole my youth. He stole all those years that I’m supposed to be enjoying my youth. I’m supposed to be building my own life—but this is not about me, but about the other thousands more of families that are mourning and grieving because of what he did,” Escudero said. Photo: Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan
For Mary Walle, a member of the Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines in Germany, Filipinos are “not alone in this struggle” and that their network is making the situation in the Philippines better known in their region.
“Not enough people know about what’s been going on [in the Philippines] for many years,” Walle said. “It’s really important for the international community to stand with the Filipino people, especially all those victims of the extrajudicial killings.” Photo: Andy Peñafuerte III
As anti-Duterte groups demonstrated in front of the ICC, some passersby, including Elsie Milan, observed the protesters from the main road. The Vienna-based Filipina told GMA Integrated News that she wanted to check what’s happening at the ICC grounds before the hearing.
Later, she spoke of being an “intercessor,” then invoked The Lord’s Prayer, while telling that, “I am here just to pray that the Lord will release peace and forgiveness. 'Yung alisin ang galit at bitterness ng mga tao.”
When asked how the families of EJK victims would obtain forgiveness and justice, Milan said, “The only judge is in the courts of heaven. Jesus is the judge, the ultimate judge.” Photo: Andy Peñafuerte III
Escudero and Pasco spoke at the press conference organized by the Duterte Panagutin Network Europe in The Hague on Sunday.
This week, they will watch the hearing at the ICC public gallery. It might have taken nearly ten years for them to reach this point, but Escudero said she is very willing to wait.
“That’s why we’re here. Kung saan mayroong hustisya, doon kami pupunta. At nakita naming puwedeng makuha ang hustisya sa ICC," she said.
(We will go where we can find justice. And we’ve seen that it can be obtained in the ICC.)
"I hope that in 3 to 5 years, Duterte will be put on trial because he’s getting old. But we’re willing to wait just to get justice because our fellow Filipino people need it,” Escudero added. Photo: Andy Peñafuerte III
Groups critical of former President Duterte gathered in front of the ICC on Sunday to exact justice for thousands of drug war victims. One placard shows: “The people’s verdict… guilty.” Photo: Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan
—AOL, GMA Integrated News
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