The question of whether a head of state’s violent rhetoric constitutes a direct command for mass murder is being tested at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Prosecutors are seeking to move to trial on three counts of crimes against humanity against Rodrigo Duterte the former president of the Philippines. Citing old age and frailty Mr Duterte declined to attend the pre-trial hearing which alleges his culpability in a brutal anti-drug campaign that resulted in the deaths of thousands.
The prosecution asserts he was “at the very heart” of a plan to murder alleged criminals a strategy first honed during his long tenure as mayor of Davao city with an infamous group known as the Davao Death Squad.
This model was then allegedly scaled to a national programme leveraging law enforcement and hired killers who were sometimes incentivised with cash rewards per killing. The court was reminded of Mr Duterte’s own words from a 2016 speech: “I used to do it personally just to show to the guys that if I can do it, why can’t you”.
Mr Duterte’s lawyers argue that his controversial remarks were exaggerated political talk rather than real instructions for violence. They say prosecutors selected only the harshest speeches and ignored moments when he referred to lawful self-defence. In their account, he is a modest man living simply who has been unfairly pursued by political opponents and campaign groups.
This characterisation was sharply contested by a legal representative for the victims. “If he were merely being pompous and flippant, the people who were killed should be alive and laughing today at his supposed pranks” Mr Joel Butuyan told the court.
While advocates for the victims who gathered to watch the hearings in Manila demand accountability Mr Duterte remains a popular figure in the Philippines.
His anti-crime platform resonated with a large segment of the population a political legacy that his daughter and current vice-president Sara Duterte may well leverage in her expected 2028 presidential campaign.