Questions over intent took center stage as lawyers for former president Rodrigo Duterte challenged the accusations against him before the International Criminal Court, insisting that his public pronouncements did not amount to a directive to kill.
During the confirmation of charges hearing on Monday, lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman rejected the prosecution’s framing of Duterte’s rhetoric at the height of his anti-drug campaign.
“Once more, for the record, Rodrigo Duterte’s language was aimed not at suspected drug pushers as the prosecution would have it, but directly at those poisoning society with their substances. And not – I stress – with lethal intent,” Kaufman told the pre-trial chamber.
He maintained that the former president’s statements were meant to project authority and deter criminality rather than encourage unlawful killings.
“His rhetoric was calculated to arouse fear and obedience, to instill fear in their hearts, and to inculcate a respect for the law in their minds. Nothing more, nothing less. That was his intent, and it was not criminal,” he added.
Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity in connection with killings allegedly tied to the so-called Davao Death Squad and the nationwide campaign against illegal drugs carried out during his administration.
Kaufman argued that inflammatory language alone cannot establish liability for the deaths attributed to the anti-drug drive.
“It’s not enough to state that since the former president made those extremely inflammatory statements, and deaths occurred, that he must — as a matter of course — be criminally responsible for those fatalities,” he said.
He further asserted that prosecutors must meet a specific evidentiary threshold at this phase of the proceedings.
“At this stage of the proceedings, the prosecution needs to show substantial grounds to believe that the former president actually desired and foresaw that people would be killed as a result of his incendiary language,” he added.
The defense also questioned the existence of the Davao Death Squad, describing it as a “fictitious construct,” and suggested that various sectors, including members of the media and civil society groups, had sought to bring Duterte before the court in The Hague.
Kaufman likewise referenced the involvement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the Netherlands. Malacañang has repeatedly said the arrest complied with the Philippines’ obligations to the International Police Criminal Organization.
“We will ask you to send Rodrigo Duterte back to his family. And we will ask you to give back to the Filipino people their Tatay Digong,” Kaufman told the chamber.
