ICC prosecutors cite Kian, Parojinog killings in bid to challenge police self-defense claims

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International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors are seeking to introduce additional testimony citing several high-profile killings to challenge Philippine National Police (PNP) claims that officers acted in self-defense during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

In its tenth application under Rule 68(3), made public on November 3, the Office of the Prosecutor asked Trial Chamber III to admit the prior recorded testimonies of witnesses P-0025 and P-1382.

The two witnesses, prosecutors said, provide evidence on the scale and circumstances of killings during Duterte’s drug war, including an increase in police killings, and discrepancies between evidence examined by the witnesses and police accounts of self-defense.

P-0025’s prior recorded testimony, which is a written statement on the witness’s four-day interview of a redacted individual, concerns around a hundred people killed by law enforcement in the context of “War on Drugs,” including victims linked to charged Incidents 14, 30, 46 and 55.

In the Prosecution’s Trial Brief, Incident 14 refers to the killing of former Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. and several other individuals on July 30, 2017. Incident 30, meanwhile, refers to the killing of Kian delos Santos on August 16, 2017.

The victims of Incident 46 were two alleged drug users in Bulacan killed by “PNP personnel and a non-police hitman”, while the alleged drug user in Incident 55, which took place in Quezon City, was “shot and killed” by PNP personnel.

The filing says P-0025 describes material that “in several cases contradict[s] allegations of self-defense made by the police,” but some details behind those contradictions are redacted in the public version.

Prosecutors said P-0025’s testimony supports their allegation of a policy to “neutralize through violent crimes, including murder, alleged criminals in the Philippines,” as well as the alleged “widespread and systematic” nature of the crimes.

In the case of P-1382, substantial portions of the witness’ background and testimony are also redacted.

The public filing states that P-1382 provides evidence on a significant increase in killings during Duterte’s presidency and on police operations conducted amid that surge. It also says the witness is expected to testify about an instruction he received, but the substance of that instruction is redacted.

The prosecution said the accounts of P-0025 and P-1382 are cumulative and corroborate other expected evidence, including testimony from P-0009, P-1345, P-1359, and P-1162.

This latest filing is the prosecution’s ninth application so far under Rule 68(3).

Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity, involving murder and attempted murder allegedly committed during his tenures as Davao City mayor and Philippine president.

His trial is set to begin on November 30 before ICC Trial Chamber III, composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner and Judges Keebong Paek and Nicolas Guillou. — VBL, GMA News