00:00Madam President, Your Honors, by way of an opening statement, we convey the views and concerns of the 497 victims
00:10authorized to participate in these proceedings.
00:14At the outset, Your Honors, we communicate the very deep disappointment of the victims at the decision allowing Rodrigo Duterte
00:24not to be present in this stage of confirmation of charges.
00:29The sight of Mr. Duterte being read and being confronted with the grave and horrible charges against him would have
00:37constituted a vital component of justice for the victims.
00:41This case symbolically represents the last boat that the victims can board to go on a journey in search of
00:51justice for their loved ones who were brutally killed upon the orders of Mr. Duterte.
00:57And urging police to go on a journey in search of justice by not confirming their loved ones, the victims
01:05will forever be moored in an island where the nights are filled with the screams and cries of their massacred
01:14loved ones.
01:15There is absolutely no other recourse for the victims.
01:20No less than former Philippine Justice Secretary Crispin Rimulya admitted just a few months ago that the door to domestic
01:28justice is permanently closed for victims of the Duterte ex-judicial killings.
01:35Madam President, Your Honors,
01:42Madam President,
01:44Your Honors,
01:45By way of an opening statement,
01:48we convey the views and concerns of the 497 victims authorized to participate in these proceedings.
01:57At the outset, Your Honors,
01:59We communicate the very deep disappointment of the victims at the decision allowing Rodrigo Duterte not to be present in
02:09this stage of confirmation of charges.
02:11The sight of Mr. Duterte being read and being confronted with the grave and horrible charges against him would have
02:20constituted a vital component of justice for the victims.
02:24This case symbolically represents the last boat that the victims can board to go on a journey in search of
02:34justice for their loved ones who were brutally killed upon the orders of Mr. Duterte.
02:42If this chamber prevents the boat from sailing by not confirming the charges,
02:46The victims will forever be moored in an island where the knights are filled with the screams and cries of
02:56their massacred loved ones.
02:58There is absolutely no other recourse for the victims.
03:03No less than former Philippine Justice Secretary Crispin Rimulya admitted just a few months ago that the door to domestic
03:11justice is permanently closed for victims of the Duterte extrajudicial killings.
03:18Rimulya declared, and we quote,
03:20It is difficult to prove the case here and build up the case because those who need to speak are
03:28involved in the crime.
03:29There is nothing, not even a police report.
03:34You don't have a scene of the crime.
03:36You don't have ballistics.
03:38You don't have DNA.
03:41Rimulya further declared, and I quote,
03:45Everything that could be erased was erased so that the cases would not push through.
03:51That is why this has reached the ICC.
03:55Under the Philippine justice system, Your Honors, no criminal case can reach the courts unless they are initiated and filed
04:04by the Department of Justice or the Office of the Ombudsman.
04:09From Justice Secretary, Rimulya has been appointed as Ombudsman.
04:14So the two gatekeepers of justice are successively occupied by a ranking official who has declared that there is absolutely
04:25no hope for domestic justice for the victims.
04:29If the charges are not confirmed in this case, one of the gravest concerns of the victims is that Mr.
04:37Duterte will return to the Philippines as a conquering hero.
04:41He will resume preaching his gospel of impunity.
04:46In fact, if Mr. Duterte could threaten to slap the judges of this,
04:51imagine the kind of terror-filled threats and the violent actions that can easily be used against the victims if
04:59the suspect walks free from this court.
05:04If the charges are not confirmed, it is a very serious concern of the victims that Mr. Duterte will be
05:13portrayed in history by his multitude of followers as the leader who vanquished the ICC
05:20and who cleansed his country of 30,000 rapists, murderers, and dangerous criminals, which were the scornful words he sweepingly
05:32used against all those who were killed in his murderous spree.
05:38Your Honours, Mr. Duterte has been in detention here in The Hague for almost a year now, but there has
05:46been no peace and rest for the victims.
05:48From the time their loved ones were killed and continuously up to this time, they lived in constant fear for
05:58their lives.
06:00The arrest and detention of Mr. Duterte has not stopped impunity in the Philippines.
06:07The virus of impunity that he spread all over the country has become a cancer that has metastasized, infecting millions
06:17of Filipinos.
06:18Mr. Duterte has created clones of himself.
06:23He converted millions of peace-loving citizens into bloodthirsty disciples who have become converts to the belief that violence and
06:35killings are valid solutions to societal problems.
06:40The killings masterminded by Mr. Duterte continue to have consequences for the victims even to this day because of his
06:49clones.
06:49These many Duterte harass, threaten, or commit outright violence against the victims and their families.
07:01As shown by the number of victims participating in this proceedings so far, many still fear to come out and
07:08tell their stories of how their lives became a living hell as a result of Mr. Duterte's crimes.
07:16And because they are constantly terrified of being targeted with violence by Duterte fanatics.
07:25Many victims have been hesitant to participate in this ICC case.
07:29Because they live in communities that thrive with Duterte clones.
07:34They see the halls of power of their country teaming with Duterte disciples.
07:40They see and hear senators, congresspersons, mayors, governors, and powerful public figures who are mini Dutertes.
07:50The daughter of Mr. Duterte is the vice president, and she has just recently declared that she is running for
07:58president in 2028.
08:00One Duterte son is a congressman, another is the Davao city mayor, and his grandchildren occupy positions of power.
08:12The plague of impunity has spread not only among Filipinos in the Philippines, but even among expatriate Filipinos in faraway
08:23lands like here in The Hague.
08:25When we reported to the victims that we, their external legal representatives, feel like fugitives.
08:33Apologies, counsel, it's 11 o'clock.
08:43When we reported to the victims that we, their external legal representatives, feel like fugitives who avoid our own countrymen
08:51here in The Hague.
08:54Then we reported to viewers that then they have tried to match the underlyingenz of theani wardrobe.
08:57Crown officials can be viewed as Aaaah.
08:58To be örneod management of all of His external air rights revealed in the Depths of Congress,
08:59where it could be perceived by the building.
08:59So when we reported to the five people in general, they feel waived in the bag of the original part,
09:02and these will wherever they are worshipped against everyВО pi phone.
09:03You
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