The International Criminal Court (ICC) is likely keeping an eye on the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, following allegations that millions of pesos from an alleged drug lord entered their family’s bank accounts, including that of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, one of the lawyers representing drug war victims said Thursday.

According to ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti, the testimonies alleging that large sums of supposed drug money flooded into their accounts could be used by ICC prosecutors to boost their case against the former president and his supposed involvement in the summary killings tied to his bloody drug war. 

Conti claimed that such testimony is “of interest to the ICC,” as it alleged that members of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) received monetary rewards from Duterte, as early as during his stint as Davao mayor, in exchange for killing individuals suspected of drug dealings.  

“I can assure you that yes, it's being monitored, but it's not closely watched. There's mild curiosity, at the minimum, about developments in the Philippines,” she said partly in Filipino in a radio interview.

“Because first, it might have an impact on the investigation... Second, they also need to [establish the] connect[ion] of the money to the killings,” Conti added. 

At least P181.6 million was deposited into the accounts of the Dutertes between 2011 and 2013, as alleged by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV during the House third hearing on the impeachment case of VP Duterte on Wednesday. 

Of the amount, P22.3 million were alledegly made to the account of the VP, while P15.7 million went to the former president.

Uy, a Davao-based businessman, was one of the top campaign donors of former president Duterte in the 2016 elections.

According to Conti, the transaction in question occurred during the same period when the drug war killings were “intense” in Davao under the VP’s watch as mayor.

VP Duterte succeeded her father as Davao mayor in 2010 after he became term-limited. She held the post until 2013. Prior to this, she was first elected as vice mayor in 2007. 

ICC records showed that Dutere was the founder and head of the DDS, a notorious group allegedly comprised of Davao-based police officers and hitmen.

During the four-day confirmation of charges at the ICC in late February, Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls of the Office of the Prosecutor cited testimonies from a supposed ex-member of the DDS, who alleged that they received cash rewards from Duterte for killing drug suspects. 

Meanwhile, DDS members who are not police received their rewards in the form of salaries as they were allegedly appointed as “ghost employees” in the Davao City Hall.

Aside from cash gifts, ICC prosecutors also accused former president Duterte of equipping DDS with weapons, ammunition, and logistical support to facilitate the commission of the crime.

Retired police officer Arturo Lascañas, a self-confessed DDS member, had linked VP Duterte to the Davao killings, claiming that she was responsible in launching the  “Oplan Tokhang,” during their stint as Davao mayor. 

Lascañas alleged that she appointed Senator Bato de la Rosa as the then Davao police chief, who oversaw the purported killings. The VP denied the allegations.

In April last year, just over a month after her father was detained in The Hague, VP Duterte confirmed that her name appeared on the list of persons to be arrested by the ICC in relation to the drug war. 

Although she added that there are several personalities ahead of her, including Senators De la Rosa and Bong Go, both close allies of the former president. The senators were already tagged as co-perpetrators of the ex-president in the crimes against humanity he is facing before the ICC.

The ICC probe covered killings that occured from November 2011 to March 2019, including those allegedly executed by the DDS.

ICC prosecutors named De la Rosa and Go as Duterte’s co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity linked to the drug war, as the architect of “Oplan Tokhang,” which formed the basis of one of the three counts of murder charges filed by the prosecution against Duterte.

Conti: sound and reasonable ang naging desisyon

Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, said his client  Duterte is the big catch of this court, and it was never really my impression that they would let him go that easily. The Anti-Money Laundering Act confirmed that some of Trillanes’ provided financial trail matched that of their records.