Ex-ICC judge: Duterte's public statement ‘strong’ evidence vs himself

The public statement of former President Rodrigo Duterte on his war on illegal drugs is a “strong” piece of evidence against himself in the alleged crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands, a former ICC judge said.

“It is quite strong because it comes from Duterte himself. It’s almost like an admission against interest, except that in this case these are not admissions before the court but a public statement by Duterte,” ex-ICC judge and former U.P. College of Law dean Raul Pangalangan told GMA Integrated News.

During the hearing, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said the Duterte administration endorsed the killing of alleged drug personalities and quoted his public statement acknowledging his authority.

Multiple recordings of Duterte's public remarks regarding his anti-drug campaign were shown during ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls' presentation. 

Duterte’s legal counsel Nicholas Kaufman earlier said the former President made such statements without criminal intent.

“The criminal charge is murder, and when you say kill, I think it’s the criminal intent is whether when he gave those instructions, when he set up the apparatus, the intent was actually to commit the murders,” Pangalangan said.

“And I think it is quite clear that the mens rea [criminal intent] element is satisfied there,” he added.

After Nicholls' presentation, Pangalangan said the ICC lawyer used Duterte's public statements to demonstrate "not just the intent to kill but also [that] it satisfies all the elements of the crime."

"I think he set forth to achieve the purpose of the confirmation hearing, which is to convince the Pre-Trial Chamber but without presenting any witness," he added.

Pangalangan made the statement as the ICC pre-trial chamber began the confirmation of charges hearings against the former president.

The confirmation of charges hearing began on Monday, February 23, and will continue on February 24, 26, and 27.

This is in connection with his alleged crimes against humanity in relation to the killings during his administration’s war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was President of the Philippines. — JMA/VBL, GMA Integrated News