In their own words: How Duterte’s men vowed to kill, according to ICC prosecution

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MANILA, Philippines — Senior officials in the Duterte administration publicly vowed to kill suspected drug personalities and used their positions and state resources to expand Duterte's nationwide machinery for summary executions, International Criminal Court trial lawyer Robynne Croft told judges Tuesday, February 24.

International Criminal Court prosecution trial lawyer Robynne Croft presented during the second day of the confirmation of charges hearing proof of how Duterte's allies — most of them former Davao City police chiefs or his associates as mayor — publicly declared their commitment to the "common plan" of executing alleged drug personalities, then used their appointments to national posts to carry it out on a massive scale.

The presentation, made on the second day of the confirmation of charges hearing, laid out the prosecution's case that Duterte did not act alone: he had a select group of loyalists who commanded a machinery of state agencies, some 180,000 police officers, and 1,800 drug enforcement personnel — all directed to "neutralize" drug suspects through violent crimes including murder.

To secure a conviction for crimes against humanity, the ICC prosecution must prove more than Duterte's alleged responsibility for individual killings. It must establish that the violence amounted to a widespread and systematic attack against civilians, carried out as state policy. 

Earlier in the hearing, Croft stressed that from at least November 2011 to March 2019, the Davao Death Squad and a national network of law enforcement personnel and hitmen carried out an attack targeting civilians alleged to be criminals. 

The attack was concentrated in Davao City until 2016, she said, then expanded nationwide when Duterte became president and his co-perpetrators took over key government agencies.

The co-perpetrators presentation, then, is the ICC prosecution's attempt to show the judges exactly how that expansion happened, specifically how a local killing operation in Davao was scaled into a nationwide state policy through specific people placed in positions of power.

Here is what the prosecution presented about some of Duterte's co-perpetrators, based on their own public statements and the roles they played in his administration.

Bato Dela Rosa: 'It's really about killing'

Dela Rosa, a former Davao City police chief who the ICC prosecutor says developed the Oplan Tokhang campaign, recorded his intentions before even formally assuming the top police post.

In May 2016, when he was announced as Duterte's PNP chief, Dela Rosa gave an interview that Croft told the court showed he "wholeheartedly agreed to the common plan."

In the clip played for the judges, Dela Rosa was heard saying: "Patayan talaga sa drugs… patayan talaga sa drugs. Mga drug lord dyan humanda kayo at sasagasaan ko kayo."

(It's really about killing when it comes to drugs… really about killing when it comes to drugs. Drug lords out there, prepare yourselves because I will run you over.)

As PNP chief, Croft told the court, Dela Rosa led some 180,000 police officers whom he directed to neutralize drug personalities. 

He moved other police co-perpetrators into key roles, the prosecution said, expanding the geographic reach of the network and allowing them to create a larger web of individuals who all worked under orders.

Isidro Lapeña: Replicating the Davao model

Lapeña, another former Davao City police chief, was appointed head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2016.

Two days after taking his oath, Croft told the court, Lapeña publicly stated that he wanted to replicate what was being done in Davao — the city where Duterte's death squads first operated.

"Under then Mayor [Duterte], we implemented strict law enforcement against illegal drug activities in Davao City [...] The president wants to replicate and expand what is being done in Davao. And that is precisely what I intend to do [...]," Lapeña was quoted as saying.

As PDEA chief, Lapeña headed 1,800 drug enforcement personnel. The prosecution argued that these subordinates acted as "physical perpetrators" to commit crimes under the common plan.

Vicente Danao: 'I will kill you'

Danao, who served as Davao City police chief from 2013 to 2016 under Duterte, was also quoted in the prosecution's presentation.

In November 2018, after being appointed chief of the Manila Police District, Danao told reporters: "If I discover anyone involved in drugs especially those who distribute and destroy them, I will kill you."

Vitaliano Aguirre II: 'We will choose to kill these drug lords'

Aguirre, who served as Duterte's lawyer during his term as Davao mayor, became secretary of the Department of Justice in 2016. The prosecution told the court that Aguirre publicly acknowledged the common plan and his agreement to it as a member of Duterte's administration.

The ICC prosecution cited Aguirre's remarks in an interview: "Which do you want? Do we build the prison facilities first or do we go against these people… In the Philippines, we will choose to kill these drug lords."

Command structure built on fear

All the "speeches of the co-perpetrators," Croft said, are proof of "both the scope of the common plan and the co-perpetrators' agreement to it."

In carrying out the plan, the co-perpetrators "controlled the will" of the people beneath them through the same methods used in Davao City, Croft told the court. 

Low-level members of the national network risked losing their jobs or being killed if they did not comply, based on evidence collected by the ICC prosecution. 

Police insider witnesses provided evidence that officers would lose their jobs if there were no killings — a quota system, the prosecution said. 

"[Wle were told that there should be 5 to 10 deaths [...] per month. L...] the Regional Director called him and told him that if there were no deaths, or no recorded killings, then he would be relieved of his duty," one anonymous witness said, according to the ICC prosecution.

Even people who surrendered to authorities were told to kill fellow drug suspects. "I surrendered myself to them |...] I knew that they wanted to kill me l...] So, I became an asset of theirs," one unnamed witness was quoted as saying.

The three-judge Pre-Trial Chamber I has 60 days after the hearing to decide whether to confirm the charges and send the case to trial. 

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity for at least 78 murders and attempted murders between 2011 and 2019, though the actual toll of his drug war is believed to be as high as 30,000.

Eight individuals have been named co-perpetrators in the case, including Sens. Dela Rosa and Bong Go, along with former police officials Danao, Oscar Albayalde, the late Camilo Cascolan, Dante Gierran, Lapeña, and Aguirre. No arrest warrants have been issued against any of them. 

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Tuesday it has begun tracing their whereabouts.