Families of EJK victims continue to cry for justice amid Rody lawyers' 'delaying tactics'

Families of victims of extrajudicial killings under former President Rodrigo Duterte's administration continue to seek justice as a lawyer accused his camp of stalling International Criminal Court proceedings.

Kristina Conti, an ICC assistant to counsel, criticized Duterte's legal team for alleged delay tactics, citing persistent harassment from Duterte supporters toward victims' families. She suggested the strategy may aim to sway public opinion ahead of midterm elections and a potential impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Conti said one alleged tactic involved a move to disqualify two of the three judges hearing the case, citing perceived bias due to their previous rulings on related matters.

"The request to disqualify the two judges was a confidential submission, filed alongside their jurisdictional challenge. As a result, only one judge is left to hear the case, which could cause further delays in the proceedings," Conti said in an interview.

"We hope the hearings don't continue in this manner... Because in reality, this is an 8-year, 9-year delay in the trial regarding Duterte's war on drugs," she added.

Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity for the deaths of an estimated 30,000 people, mostly from poor communities, according to Human Rights Watch. Official government data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency places the number of drug war-related deaths at 6,241 from July 1, 2016.

The ICC investigation covers the period from 1 November 2011, when Duterte was Davao City mayor, to 16 March 2019, during his presidency.

Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police and Interpol on 11 March 2025, and transferred to The Hague, Netherlands, the same day.