Day 1 at ICC: Duterte defense decries 'demagoguery,' prosecution details kill 'system'

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February 24, 2026 | 7:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte's lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman told victims' lawyer Joel Butuyan that the International Criminal Court decides based on "evidence" and not "political demagoguery" — then spent most of his own speech attacking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., praising the former president's legacy, and closing with a plea to "give back to the Filipino people their Tatay Digong."

The exchange was the most combative moment of the first day of Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing on Monday, February 23 with the rest of the proceedings — mostly the prosecution side — largely fleshing out information already laid out in the ICC's pre-confirmation brief released earlier this month.

The week-long hearing before Pre-Trial Chamber I will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Duterte to trial on three counts of crimes against humanity covering 78 murders and attempted murders between 2011 and 2019. A decision will not be rendered this week as judges have 60 days after the hearing to do so.

Kaufman vs. Butuyan

Kaufman's sharpest attacks were aimed not at the prosecution but at Butuyan, who had just delivered an emotional appeal on behalf of around 497 victims authorized to participate in the case. 

Butuyan warned the judges that if the charges are not confirmed, Duterte would return to the Philippines "as a conquering hero" who would resume preaching his "gospel of impunity."

The common legal representative also cited former Justice Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla's own admission that domestic prosecution of drug war killings is effectively impossible. The ICC, he said, is the victims' last recourse.

Kaufman dismissed this as irrelevant and said there are enough local records to prosecute drug war cases in the Philippines. He said Duterte's "expletives and hyperbole grated, while his honesty and wild popularity irritated."

But Kaufman then veered into political territory himself, accusing Marcos of breaking a written promise not to cooperate with the ICC.  

On the substance of the charges, Kaufman argued that the prosecution "cherry-picked" Duterte's most inflammatory speeches while ignoring others where the former president referenced lawful self-defense.  

'It was to give his lawyers something to say'

The prosecution responded to Kaufman directly. Senior trial lawyer Julian Nicholls, who led the prosecution's submissions on the merits, directly addressed Kaufman's argument that the prosecution had taken Duterte's words out of context while ignoring those referencing self-defense.

"We don't run away from that. We don't shy away from that," Nicholls said of the self-defense references scattered across Duterte's speeches. 

But he argued those were deliberate as Duterte, a former prosecutor himself, was "trying to build in some semblance of a defense, preparing for the day, should it ever come, as it now has, that he would be held to account."

"It was to give his lawyers something to say," Nicholls told the judges.

He went further: "A leader who creates, leads, arms, and funds a death squad is not interested in due process or following the law."

"Disregard every speech made by Mr. Duterte. Throw them all out. There is still ample evidence of substantial grounds," he added.

The lawyer said there was a clear "chain of command" from Duterte to those who carried out the killings. The Davao Death Squad became a model for its national version when the then-city mayor was elected as president.

Prosecution: Duterte's own words

Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang's opening statement covered ground already established in the pre-confirmation brief but sought to drive it home with Duterte's own public statements and quotes from unnamed "insider witnesses."

Niang told the court that Duterte "sat at the apex" of political power and used his position as Davao mayor and later as president and commander-in-chief to control the perpetrators. For instance, he quoted Duterte directly as saying in the past: "In Davao, I used to do it personally, just to show the guy — if I can do it, why can't you."

The prosecution argued that perpetrators killed for different reasons. Some did so out of "blind loyalty," others out of fear, and some for cash rewards paid "per head." 

Killing quotas led to promotions, turning violence into what Niang called a "perverse form of competition." One insider witness, according to the ICC prosecution, claimed it was "simply not possible" to disobey Duterte's orders.

Niang said the 78 charged murders and attempted murders were "merely a fraction of the overall criminality" of the drug war, and that the evidence shows Duterte "intended and knew that the charged crimes were occurring."

"While this court cannot reunite victims with their loved ones, it can help reveal the truth about what happened to them," Niang said.

What comes next

The hearing continues on Tuesday with the prosecution presenting further evidence, followed by the victims' legal team's submissions. 

The defense presents its case on Thursday. 

A separate detention review hearing for Duterte is scheduled for February 27, the last day of proceedings.