GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Duterte drug war victims' kin relive pain, cling to hope at ICC gallery
As the Prosecution and Common Legal Representatives for Victims (CLRV) presented evidence Tuesday on why the three counts of crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder against former President Rodrigo Duterte should proceed to trial, families of victims were visibly emotional inside the gallery of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Llore Pasco and Sheerah Escudero were seen wiping tears as they followed the proceedings. Pasco lost two sons, Crisanto and Juan Carlos, while Escudero lost her younger brother Ephraim in the Duterte administration's drug war.
"Ito ay talagang tumagos sa aming mga puso (This really stabs deep in our hearts)," Pasco said as she started to cry.
"Mahirap. Mahirap po kasi kanina. Pigil 'yung aming damdamin. Kasi sobra kaming, ano ba? Na overwhelm dahil para talaga 'yun sa amin eh, yung mga sinasabi, sa amin 'yun ang mga biktima," Pasco added, recalling her experience of watching the second day of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I's confirmation of charges hearing on Duterte's case.
(It was tough. It was tough earlier. We were trying to keep our emotions under control. We were overwhelmed because the words that were spoken were meant for us, the victims.)
The pain was compounded by court rules that reportedly forbade crying inside the gallery.
"Sobrang nakakaiyak. Kasi nakaano eh, 'yung bang, hindi, kung hindi nga lang bawal 'yung umiyak, kasi bawal daw eh. Baka kasi daw humagulgol." Pasco said.
(It really drove me to tears. If only crying wasn't allowed in there. Sobbing is prohibited.)
For Escudero, the details presented by the prosecution triggered painful memories she could not contain.
"Ganon ka sakit (It was that painful)… I find it hard to breathe (and) sometimes, but I still try to manage and repress my emotions," Escudero said.
Pasco said she was most affected when the prosecution detailed where the victims' bodies were found, reminding her of her own children.
"Doon sa inilatag ng babae sa prosecution, 'yung mga nilatag niya ng mga pinaslang, tapos kung saan saan lang natagpuan. Tapos siyempre, naalaala ko rin 'yung anak ko dahil natagpuan din namin siya na bangkay na sila sa may Quezon City. Dalawa sila magkasabay," Pasco said.
(It was when the lady from the prosecution enumerated those who were killed and where they were found. Of course, I also remembered my child because I found her lifeless body in Quezon City. Two of them at the same time.
She recalled the sleepless nights and guilt over what she could have done differently.
"Minsan may mga gabing hindi ka nakakatulog kasi sinisisi ko yung sarili ko na siguro kung hindi ko sila pina-surrender, baka buhay pa." Pasco added.
(Sometimes there are nights when I can't sleep because I blame myself and wonder, what if I didn't ask them to surrender? They might still be alive today.)
Escudero said she was reminded of her brother's death when the prosecution presented gruesome details.
"It reminded me of what happened to my brother. Because same way din nakita 'yung brother ko (Because my brother was found the same way) wrapped with packaging tape (in) 2017. And it reminded me of all the pain that we experienced," Escudero said.
She stressed that her brother's case was not isolated.
"Mas naging malinaw sa amin na part talaga to ng policy ni Duterte. So, lalong naging mas matibay sa amin na si Duterte talaga 'yung reason bakit nawala 'yung mga mahal namin sa buhay," Escudero added.
(What's clear to us is that it's part of Duterte's policy. So, it became clearer to us that Duterte is the reason why our loved ones are no longer here.)
Despite her brother's name not being mentioned in court, Escudero felt he was among the victims being represented by the prosecution. She acknowledged that no verdict could ease the pain of losing a loved one, but she remains hopeful the case will proceed to trial.
"Even if ma-convict si Duterte balang araw, 'yung pain, nandu'n pa rin po. Alam namin na hindi na nito maibabalik 'yung kapatid ko, pero we still want to push this to trial," Escudero said.
(Even if Duterte is convicted one day, the pain will stay with us. We know that this won't bring back our brother, but we still want to push this to trial.)
Both families strongly rejected the defense's claim that Duterte had no "criminal intent."
"Nu'ng sinabi po ni (Duterte defense counsel Nicholas) Kaufman na walang criminal intent si Duterte, para sa amin, hindi totoo na walang criminal intent siya. Dahil siya na mismo, sa kanya na mismo nanggaling how much he wanted to kill these people," Escudero insisted.
(When (Duterte defense counsel Nicholas) Kaufman said his client had no criminal intent, for us, that's not true because he really did say how much he wanted to kill these people.)
"Sabi niya, hindi naman daw intent to kill. Isipin ba 'yung mga sinabi ni Duterte? Hindi pa ba yun proof na talagang inutos niya?" Pasco added.
(Kaufman said, it wasn't intent to kill. Are we going to talk about what Duterte said? Isn't that proof enough that he gave out the orders?)
Despite the pain and difficulty, they chose to witness every moment of the hearing.
"For me, 'yung pagpunta po sa ICC is like witnessing a history," Escudero said.
(For me, going to the ICC proceedings is like witnessing history.)
They also called out those spreading false information about the victims and the case.
"Why would we experience such pain kung wala talagang namatay, o kung hindi siya pinatay? (Why would we experience such pain if nobody actually died, or if he wasn't murdered?) We're not faking everything," Escudero said.
Despite everything, both families remain hopeful that the process will continue and lead to a proper trial.
"Sana magkaroon na talaga kayo ng katarungan at 'yung mga iba pang mga biktima… hangad din namin 'yun na magkaroon ng hustisya," Pasco said.
(Hopefully justice will prevail and as for the other victims... we also hope that they obtain justice.)
— VDV, GMA Integrated News
