ICC names Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Aguirre among 8 of Duterte’s co-perpetrators

MANILA, Philippines – The prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has named eight people as indirect co-perpetrators of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity case set to undergo pre-trial on February 23.

The eight co-perpetrators are:

1. Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
2. Former police chief Vicente Danao
3. The late former police chief Camilo Cascolan
4. Former police chief Oscar Albayalde
5. Senator Bong Go
6. Former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Dante Gierran
7. Former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Isidro Lapeña
8. Former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II

The ICC uploaded late Friday night, February 13, a lesser redacted version of the document containing charges or DCC. This document, which Filipinos saw for the first time only in September, contains specific details of the three counts of crimes against humanity of murder being alleged. The new uploads reveal the previously redacted names.

Dela Rosa has not been seen in public and has not been reporting to work in the Senate since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said there’s an ICC warrant against him. This supposed warrant has not been confirmed. ICC warrants can be under seal until executed.

The document charges Duterte and the eight others of sharing “a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes, including murder (‘Common Plan’).”

The three counts cover 49 incidents of killings, with 78 victims, both in the context of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) when Duterte was mayor and during the war on drugs when he was president.

• Count 1 = 19 victims of the DDS
• Count 2 = 14 high-value targets killed during the drug war
• Count 3 = 45 “low-level” victims of Oplan TokHang

Most of the charged co-perpetrators also served Duterte in some capacity as mayor of Davao City. In the DDS context, the prosecution accuses Go, Dela Rosa, and Danao of using Davao police (or “handlers”) to kill alleged criminals.

“The handlers reported to a combination of police and co-perpetrators (in particular, Dela Rosa (2012-2013), Danao (2013-2016), Sonny Buenaventura (police officer and Duterte’s driver and bodyguard), and Bong Go), who in turn reported to Duterte. Duterte’s approval was required for DDS members to conduct killings in Davao City,” said the document.

The affidavit of self-confessed DDS hitman Arturo Lascañas named Danao and Gierran as having roles in the Davao Death Squad. Gierran later became NBI chief under President Duterte.

“In their new geographically expanded roles, the co-perpetrators controlled the will of the physical perpetrators through a mechanism that ensured their automatic compliance with their orders,” said the document.

Can we expect warrants to be issued against the eight co-perpetrators, too?

“Likely, because that mode of criminal responsibility assumes the existence of the criminal enterprise perpetrated with other persons. If they have been named, it is very much possible that the court is looking into issuing warrants,” Ross Tugade, an ICC-accredited assistant to counsel, told Rappler.

Pre-trial on track

The confirmation of charges hearings, or the pre-trial, are on track to push through in the week of February 23.

That’s after the ICC pre-trial chamber blocked the plan of Duterte’s lawyers to appeal the decision that found the 80-year-old former president fit to undergo trial. Before the defense team could file the appeal, they first had to seek the leave of court or permission of the court.

“The chamber hereby rejects the request,” said the chamber on Friday, after finding that the issues raised by the defense were not appealable issues.

The chamber on Friday also approved the participation of 500 more victims.

Duterte’s lead lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, has filed a new request to disqualify the court-appointed victims’ lawyers, or the common legal representatives for victims, who are Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres. Butuyan and Andres are both with the law group Center for International Law, and they have appointed former CenterLaw fellow Nicolene Arcaina, the current executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, as case manager.

Kaufman seeks their disqualifications “on the grounds of an impediment to representation and, in the alternative, on the basis of a conflict of interest.” However, the request was heavily redacted.

The hearings will be on February 23, 24, 26, and 27. – Rappler.com