International Criminal Court prosecutors have urged the Trial Chamber III to allow them to introduce a recorded video of an unnamed witness as evidence corroborating their claims linking former president Rodrigo Duterte to the Davao Death Squad (DDS). 

In a filing dated 7 September, Acting Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said the previously recorded testimony would expedite the proceedings by reducing the direct examination of the unnamed witness from seven hours to two hours, which he noted is also favorable to Duterte, given his advanced age.

Duterte, 81, is scheduled to stand trial on 30 November.

The prosecution insisted that the recorded testimony is “necessary” to fully understand the witness’s account, as it “records his best recollection of events.” The video was “voluntarily given” to the prosecution.

“As such, his evidence is particularly relevant to the policy to ‘neutralise’ through violent crimes, including murder, alleged criminals in the Philippines. It also provides evidence of the Davao Death Squad’s modus operandi, as well as the accused’s individual criminal responsibility, including in relation to his knowledge and intent,” the submission reads. 

The recorded testimony is “relevant, reliable, and probative,” it added.

Furthermore, Niang assured that the recorded testimony will not be prejudicial to or inconsistent with Duterte’s rights because the unnamed witness would be available for cross-examination by the defense and further questioning by the chamber and even the legal team of the drug war victims. 

Citing court rules, the prosecution stressed that the ICC allows the introduction of previously recorded testimony as evidence of “a witness who is present before the chamber, where the individual does not object, and the parties and the chamber have the opportunity to examine the witness.”

ICC records showed that Duterte and his co-perpetrators executed a “common plan,” which allegedly involved systematic killings, torture, and other crimes to “neutralize” suspected drug offenders.

The scheme was allegedly developed during Duterte’s tenure as mayor of Davao and later adopted nationwide when he won the presidency in 2016.

ICC prosecutors have alleged the extrajudicial killings were first carried out by the DDS—a notorious group formerly comprised of Davao-based police and hired gunmen responsible for the killings in the city—with Duterte as the “top head.”

During the confirmation of charges in late February, ICC prosecutor Julian Nicholls 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 were not police received their rewards in the form of salaries, allegedly appointed as “ghost employees” at Davao City Hall.

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

In a Senate hearing in October 2024, Duterte admitted that he had a “death squad” comprised of “gangsters” who killed criminals during his decade-long stint as Davao City mayor. 

He also tagged Senator Bato dela Rosa, his then-PNP chief, as a former member of the DDS. 

Like Duterte, Dela Rosa is also facing charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC, over the summary killings allegedly committed between November 2011 and March 2019—spanning Duterte’s tenure as Davao mayor and as the country’s chief executive. 

The warrant alleged that De la Rosa, being the then chief of the Davao police and chief of the Philippine National Police—both under Duterte’s watch—is responsible for the killings of 32 individuals at various locations in the Philippines. He is also named as one of the “co-perpetrators” of Duterte, who has been detained in the ICC since March last year.

He initially went into hiding in November last year to evade the ICC warrant, before resurfacing on 11 May, only to go into hiding again after three days.