ICC drops Duterte killing incident

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have dropped one drug-related killing incident involving a “high-value target” from charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte pursuant to the tribunal’s decision that it “fell outside” the charge period covering July 2016 to July 2017.

The move came barely a month before Duterte stands trial on 30 November for crimes against humanity for the alleged killings committed under his watch as president and as Davao City mayor.

In a filing dated 20 October, Acting Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang informed the ICC Trial Chamber III that it updated its Trial Brief and removed Incident 57 from the number of killings under Count 2, as ordered by the court.

Despite the withdrawal, the prosecution retained its lists of witnesses and evidence, arguing that some evidence related to Incident 57 remains relevant to the “contextual elements of crimes against humanity and Mr. Duterte’s individual criminal responsibility.”

The removed incident was intended to be one of the eight additional incidents the prosecution sought to add under Count 2, which the defense opposed as allegedly “exceed[ing] the facts and circumstances described in the charges” or occurring outside the time frame set by the prosecution itself.

The chamber ruled in favor of Duterte’s camp, stating that while the incident in question fits the alleged criminal pattern covered by the geographical scope of the charges, it fell outside the confirmed charging period spanning July 2016 to July 2017.

It warned that including Incident 57 would exceed the facts and circumstances described in the charges, contrary to Article 74 (2) of the Statute.

“The acts alleged in the DCC (document containing the charges) and confirmed by PTC I (Pre-Trial Chamber I), based on the evidence available at the time of the confirmation proceedings, occurred between July 2016 and July 2017. In the chamber’s view, the prosecution cannot now be permitted to broaden the temporal scope of the confirmed charges beyond the defined period the Prosecution itself established,” the decision dated 9 October reads.

ICC prosecutors charged Duterte with three counts of murder for the killings of 78 individuals, including six children, allegedly suspected of drug dealings from 2013 to 2018, spanning his tenure as Davao mayor and as president.

Originally, prosecutors logged 14 murder cases under Count 2. The victims under this were classified as “high-value targets” who are allegedly involved in drug manufacturing or drug syndicates, with the alleged killings covering July 2016 and 2017, Duterte’s presidential period.

Although it was not explicitly named in the past decision, among the murdered high-value targets named by the prosecution during the presentation of the evidence in February was the late Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

Espinosa, who was in the so-called “PRRD list (Duterte’s initials) comprising other high-value targets, was shot dead inside his jail cell, allegedly after firing at police officers, in November 2016.

Meanwhile, the count recorded 19 murders, including three children. It was carried out between 2013 and 2016 by members of the so-called Davao Death Squad — a notorious group allegedly comprised of Davao-based police and hitmen — while Duterte was serving as the city mayor.

As for the third count, the prosecutors charged Duterte with 43 murders and two attempted murders of alleged drug suspects, including three children.

These cases were also recorded during Duterte’s tenure as president and were carried out by members of the “national network” during barangay clearance operations between July 2016 and September 2018.

In April, the PTC-I confirmed all three murder charges covering all these alleged killings against Duterte, leading to his case proceeding to a full trial.

The prosecution has since amended the case, increasing the number of killings against the former president ahead of his trial on 30 November.