Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla admitted that the Philippine justice system failed to provide justice for the victims of alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. As a result, the victims’ families were left with no choice but to seek accountability through the International Criminal Court (ICC).
During a Senate hearing on the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Remulla acknowledged that for years, families of drug war victims had “nowhere to run to.”
“The cases that we are speaking about were filed by their families in the ICC because they could not get justice in the country. I think that’s one thing that nobody wants to acknowledge—that there was a failure of our justice system for a long time,” he said.
“They had to file their cases in the ICC to get any attention at all from anybody who cared because for the longest time, itong mga biktima po, ‘yung mga namatayan, mga pamilya nilang namatay o kaya’y napaslang sa drug war, ay wala nang mapuntahan kaya do’n sila pumunta sa ICC,” he added.
The Senate panel, chaired by Senator Imee Marcos, convened to examine the circumstances surrounding Duterte’s arrest and detention at The Hague Penitentiary. When asked by Marcos whether the justice system’s failure justified ICC intervention, Remulla responded:
“Opo, nu’ng panahon na ‘yon,” confirming that during Duterte’s term, the country struggled to properly investigate drug war-related killings.
He further explained that even government prosecutors faced intimidation from law enforcement. “Nagkaro’n tayo ng problema nung panahon na yun na hindi ho talaga maimbestigahan nang maayos kasi pati ho ang piskal tinatakot po nung pulis nung panahon na yun, eh,” he said.
Despite this, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. maintained that the government did not cooperate with the ICC, citing the Philippines’ withdrawal from the tribunal in 2019. However, he admitted that authorities had to honor commitments with Interpol, which facilitated Duterte’s arrest.
Remulla claimed that improvements have since been made in handling criminal investigations. “Mas maayos ngayon sapagkat sinisiguro namin na ang piskal at ang pulis ay magkasama na mag-imbestiga ng mga krimen. Hindi na ho katulad ng dati,” he said.
However, Senator Imee Marcos questioned why cases were still not being filed in the country if the justice system had improved. In response, Remulla clarified that the government had no control over the families who had already sought ICC intervention.
Official police records put the drug war death toll at around 6,000. However, human rights groups and the ICC prosecutor estimate the real number to be between 12,000 and 30,000, including vigilante killings.
Remulla acknowledged that there was a time when cases of extrajudicial killings in the country went unresolved, making investigations difficult. He also revealed that some families had turned to the ICC even before Duterte assumed the presidency.
“Hindi sila nagpunta roon nung 3 years ago lang. Nagpunta sila roon 8 or 9 years ago, andon na po sila. Kasi marami ho dito, ‘yung mga nangyari sa Davao, nung mayor pa si [former] President Duterte,” he explained.
One of the biggest challenges in investigating the drug war was the lack of police reports in wrongful death cases.
Remulla cited findings from forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, who uncovered inconsistencies in death certificates. “When she investigated the wrongful death situation, the death certificate indicated cardiac arrest as the cause of death. But in the autopsy, there were bullet holes in the head,” he said.
He further noted that “95% of wrongful death cases had no police reports.”
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla suggested that the Senate conduct its own investigation into the discrepancies in drug war death certificates.
“Why doesn’t the Senate try to investigate that and investigate the circumstances surrounding that? Maybe, ma’am, you can come up with a more cohesive report regarding this matter,” Jonvic Remulla told Imee Marcos.
“Has the Senate tried to investigate deaths by cardiac arrest but with bullet holes in the head?”
Meanwhile, Boying Remulla reiterated that the Philippine government has never engaged in discussions with the ICC regarding Duterte’s case.
