A lawyer accredited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may face additional charges beyond murder for his alleged crimes against humanity during his controversial war on drugs.
On Monday, Atty. Joel Butuyan stated that the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor could include more charges against Duterte ahead of his confirmation of charges on September 23. The confirmation will determine if the case proceeds to trial.
“That’s (murder) only a single charge. Not included are illegal imprisonment, torture, illegal detention, and other inhumane acts,” Butuyan said, as reported by the Philippine News Agency.
Duterte currently faces 43 counts of murder for his alleged role in extrajudicial killings during his time as mayor of Davao City and president of the Philippines from 2011 to 2019.
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah had previously stated that the charges were aimed at issuing an arrest warrant, emphasizing that they represent a sample of numerous violent acts committed under Duterte’s administration.
Butuyan, one of only five Filipino lawyers accredited by the ICC, supported Abdallah’s remarks.
“The ICC case is not the trial of the 30,000 deaths. It is a trial of who planned to make the killings a policy in resolving the drug problem. What is at stake here is who masterminded it,” Butuyan explained. He is also the president of CenterLaw Philippines, a non-profit organization.
Human rights organizations have estimated that as many as 30,000 people were killed during Duterte’s brutal anti-drug campaign.
“Under ICC rules, even one death is enough as long as you can prove that a policy was made that this is the solution to the drug problem: to kill them. The 43 (cases cited by the ICC) is more than enough,” Butuyan added.
Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines crimes against humanity as acts committed as part of a “widespread and systematic” attack against civilians, a standard under which Duterte’s actions may qualify.
