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Families of Philippine drug war victims seek ICC justice as Duterte trial looms
A hearing that begins in The Hague on Monday will determine whether the ex-president will stand trial over at least 76 of those deaths
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Mary Ann Pajo watched quietly as cemetery workers opened her son’s tomb in Manila this week and removed his body for examination by a forensic pathologist.
Accused of dealing drugs, 30-year-old Joewarski Pajo was shot dead while playing a game on his phone, one of thousands of extrajudicial killings alleged to have taken place under former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
A hearing begins at the International Criminal Court on Monday that will determine whether Duterte will stand trial over at least 76 of those deaths.
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“This hearing is what we have been waiting for,” Father Flavie Villanueva said after saying a prayer over Joewarski’s remains, the 126th body his non-profit group has exhumed as potential evidence.
“It is important that [Duterte] faces the court in person, physically, for us to see if there is remorse on his part,” said Villanueva, a fierce critic of the former president’s so-called drug war.
However, the hope that Duterte would appear in person disappeared on Friday when ICC judges ruled that the octogenarian could waive his right to attend the hearing.
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