00:00Exactly three years after he withdrew the Philippines from the International Criminal
00:04Court, a frail Rodrigo Duterte makes an appearance at The Hague, facing charges for crimes against
00:11humanity in connection to his drug war.
00:15Despite seemingly being shown an arrest warrant in the Philippines prior to his extradition
00:20to The Hague, his lawyer tells the ICC judge no warrant was shown, calling his arrest unlawful
00:27and a form of political score-settling by Philippine authorities.
00:32To us lawyers, this would be called an extrajudicial rendition.
00:39To the less legally inclined, it was a pure and simple kidnapping.
00:45Prosecutors are accusing the former Philippine president of carrying out systemic attacks
00:50against the civilian population during his time in office, after he launched a brutal
00:55war on drug gangs and addicts.
00:58Outside the ICC, both critics and supporters of Duterte gather.
01:03While many decry his drug war as a violation of human rights, pro-Duterte supporters insist
01:10that his actions were justified and helped improve the Philippines' security.
01:15His daughter, current Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, was also seen addressing her
01:20family's supporters, assuring them of his well-being and delivering a message of encouragement
01:27from her father.
01:28Tell them to relax, everyone has a right, there will be a day of reckoning for all.
01:38But for families of the victims of Duterte's policy, it's the former president's day
01:43of reckoning they are looking forward to.
01:46Holding photos of their deceased loved ones, they watch the proceedings closely from thousands
01:52of kilometers away in the Philippines.
01:55Here they recount how family members were taken from them, and continue to echo calls
02:00for justice nearly a decade since the killings began.
02:04What we want to see from ICC is that Rodrigo Duterte to pay up for his crimes against humanity,
02:13crimes against the Filipino people, for the 30,000 and more victims of extrajudicial killings.
02:21The ICC has set the next hearing to confirm the charges six months from now, on the 23rd
02:26of September.
02:28While the families of the victims look for closure, Duterte still remains popular among
02:33many Filipinos, with his arrest further dividing the Philippines between those calling for
02:39his conviction and those calling for his return home.
02:44Andy Xue and Gino Lopez for Taiwan Plus.
Comments