EJK victims left teary-eyed in ICC courtroom

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February 25, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  For victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, Monday’s confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) was a giant leap toward justice – with those physically present in The Hague described as “teary-eyed” during the proceedings.

In an interview with radio dzMM, ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti said that at least five victims were in the courtroom during day one of the confirmation of charges against the former president.

“I saw one of the victims who was teary-eyed and about to cry. I felt that the security personnel was about to approach her because it’s not allowed to show emotions and will say, ‘I warn you if you cry, it’s not allowed here.’ Fortunately, the victim was able to control her tears, but it would have felt terrible if you hear a story, even if it wasn’t the same as yours, finally, it’s being told, at the right time,” Conti said.

After five months of delay, the confirmation of charges against the former president formally opened at Courtroom 1 of the ICC headquarters in The Hague at exactly 9 a.m. on Monday (5 p.m. Manila time).

Conti expressed confidence that the case against Duterte is strong enough to proceed to trial.

“Yes, the prosecution is ready for trial. The judges right now, I don’t see any other decision for them but to confirm the charges and let the trial continue,” Conti noted.

She said the prosecution will tackle the high value targets on count two of confirmation of charges and the key to barangay operations during count three.

“Let’s think about boxing, we are done with round one… the prosecution will have more time. They will present counts two and three, then the victims, the defense will begin. On the last day, the prosecution will rebut, but this will only be a short period, prosecution again, victims, defense in closing arguments, so three rounds, speaking, by turns, but the second round is the longest, the arguments on the merits,” Conti explained.

‘Empty talk’

For some of the relatives of drug war victims, the arguments laid out by defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman at the ICC were “empty talk” which will not save Duterte.

“All he could say was to deny Duterte’s crimes but he failed to present any evidence to defend his boss,” Llore Pasco, whose two sons were killed in police operations, said in a statement on Monday.

“He had a lengthy speech but without substance. Kaufman’s praises for his boss have nothing to do with Duterte’s implementation of a bloody war on drugs,” she added.

Sheerah Escudero, whose brother was killed in an anti-drug operation in 2017, also called out Kaufman over his claim that Duterte was targeted by the media and civil society organizations.

“The media and human rights groups did not invent stories about how our loved ones were killed. Yes, our narrative is sacred and unchallengeable because it is the unshakable truth,” she added.

Pasco and Escudero were among the victims’ relatives who were in The Hague to attend the proceedings.

In the Philippines, Dahlia Cuartero, a mother of a drug war victim, questioned the defense’s claim that Duterte upheld law and order.

“Duterte himself trampled upon the law when he ordered the police to neutralize drug suspects. State forces were the ones who carried out criminal activities such as killing and torturing drug suspects,” she added. – Janvic Mateo, Alexis Romero, Emmanuel Tupas, Mark Ernest Villeza