“We are looking forward not only to a trial, but also for Duterte’s conviction.”
MANILA – At a gathering held on April 25, 2026, at the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP) in Quezon City, the women families declared a “double victory” after the International Criminal Court (ICC) affirmed its jurisdiction over former President Rodrigo Duterte’s case and confirmed his charges of three counts of crimes against humanity.
Read:It’s final: Rodrigo Duterte to face ICC trial for crimes against humanity
Read:Duterte defeated twice on ICC jurisdiction challenge
“Since 2016, the families have remained united. We know from the start that this will be a long fight and it is important for us that we sustain this unity. The ICC decision is a result of the collective strength of the victims’ families. We never imagined that Duterte would be arrested, we did not expect that we would even reach the trial stage,” Sheerah Escudero told Bulatlat in Filipino.
Her brother Ephraim went missing on September 19, 2017. On the third day of his disappearance, his body was found in a province more than 100 kilometers from their home, his head covered in a packaging tape and his arms and feet tied, just like many bodies recovered during Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.
Escudero went to The Hague to witness the ICC confirmation of charges hearing, together with Rise Up for Life and for Rights coordinator Rubilyn Litao and fellow member Llore Pasco. They were subjected to relentless disinformation and political vilification campaigns at the time.
Read: AI-assisted disinformation used vs drug war families
“We know that this journey will be long and hard but we already prepared ourselves. Whatever the outcomes are, we will never stop searching for justice,” Pasco said during the gathering.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said that there are substantial grounds to believe that Duterte was responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019 while the Philippines was a member of the ICC.
The decision comes a day after the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected all four grounds of Duterte’s appeal to challenge the jurisdiction, affirming the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision on October 23, 2025. As a result, the defense’s request for Duterte’s immediate and unconditional release was declared moot.
Trial
Duterte’s case will now move to a Trial Chamber. ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said that this process may take weeks or months since the physical and virtual documents will be transferred.
“The work of lawyers and the victims’ families is to register more participating victims,” Conti said. “But this will be challenging because first, we do not have access to all their contacts, and second, this entails a heavy toll for them. The influence of Duterte remains. Their relentless intimidation to the victims online and offline is a consideration for the victims to surface.”
Women kin of extrajudicial killing victims gather at National Council of Churches in the Philippines on April 25. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat.
“It is already emotionally burdensome. And on top of that, it is also a heavy strain on our resources, missing work and everything that comes with it. Some have managed to overcome these challenges but many still have to endure and get through them,” Conti said.
Women families of extrajudicial killing victims have become a vulnerable target of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The attacks range from public attacks, fabricated narratives, sexual assault threats, and manipulated photos and videos.
Read: Women human rights defenders face rising tech-assisted violence
“With our continued speaking out come attacks, but we will not stop. Their harassment and attacks carry no weight,” Escudero said. “We have nowhere else to go but to demand justice. We encourage more families to join us in this fight for as long as we live, their memories will continue to live on.”
Rise Up for Life and for Rights is helping victims’ families document the deaths of their loved ones. It also assists them in having registered to the ICC Victims Participation and Reparations Section. As of this writing, there are 539 authorized victims to participate in the proceedings.
More families surface
For almost 10 years, Remegia Adipen has not stopped visiting the grave of her youngest son Ian Carlos who was killed by a suspected police officer while playing in the computer shop on the night of September 17, 2016. She was watching the news of the “drug war” death toll when they heard three gunshots.
Remegia Adipen calls for justice for her slain son. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat.
“The pain is still here. My husband and I have visited him every month since his death with the COVID-19 lockdown as an exception,” Adipen told Bulatlat in Filipino. “He died in the arms of his father. He died crying for help, asking the men dragging him outside the shop that he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Adipen is a recent member of Rise Up for Life and for Rights and has come forward to share her story. Her son was killed a decade ago at the age of 20. She remembers him as a kind son, though at times outspoken. Despite his young age, he did what he could to help support the family, taking on factory work to make ends meet.
“Without Duterte’s go signal, there could be no killings,” Adipen said. “Duterte should thank the Court that he is enjoying due process. But our son was not given the same privilege.”
Ian Carlos was not part of the barangay’s drug watchlist. But his father and his elder sibling were identified. Adipen only knew this in 2024 when she reached out to the investigators of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). She asked the investigators to facilitate the removal of their names in the watchlist.
Remegia Adipen shows photo of her son, Ian Carlos Adipen, who died at the height of “drug war” killings. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat.
“Rise Up is a big help for us. Before, we thought we would just remain silent because justice was out of reach. We thought to ourselves, we should just accept it and let God decide,” Adipen said. “We should prepare for the trial. We hope that God will never fail us, we hope that Duterte lives long so he could account for his crimes.”
Duterte will be on trial for three counts of murder and attempted murder. The first count refers to the killings during his time as mayor of Davao City. The second count refers to the “high-value targets” across the Philippines during his presidential term. The third count refers to those killed in barangay clearance operations across the country.
Out of the more than 30,000 victims documented by human rights groups, only five cases resulted in court convictions, according to Amnesty International 2026 state of human rights report.
Each other’s courage
“There are times when families grow weary and seem to lose hope. But despite this, their bond together is what keeps them going. They draw strength and courage from one another,” Litao said.
Conti said that they are targeting over 1,500 victims’ families to be authorized to participate in the proceedings. “We know it will be a long and tedious process, but we are starting to prepare for it.”
“A major challenge is the state of life here,” Dahlia Cuartero, mother of drug war victim Jesus Cuartero III, said in Filipino. “The time and effort needed for this often takes a backseat to the need to earn a living. Many are already in old age, and some have passed away since it has been ten years of this struggle.”
To confront these challenges, Pasco said that she and other women relatives of extrajudicial killing victims have committed to reaching out to more communities and families, sustaining their efforts, and sharing their stories to keep the hope alive.
Women kin of extrajudicial killing victims gather at National Council of Churches in the Philippines on April 25. Photo by Dominic Gutoman/Bulatlat.
“We are looking forward not only to a trial, but also for Duterte’s conviction. For all those involved in the war on drugs to be imprisoned. We know that the lives of our loved ones can never be brought back but let this serve as a reminder to the Philippines and international community that no leader, no matter how powerful, has the right to commit such crimes and repeatedly violate our rights,” Jane Lee, wife of drug war victim Michael Lee, said in Filipino.
There are still no arrest warrants for Duterte’s co-perpetrators but the ICC already identified them. They are former police chiefs Ronald “Bato’ dela Rosa (incumbent senator), Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan (deceased), Oscar Albayalde and Isidro Lapeña, as well as former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go.
Duterte’s elder daughter, incumbent vice president Sara Duterte, is currently facing impeachment for allegedly misusing hundreds of millions of pesos of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, assasination plot, and amassing wealth beyond her declared income.
Meanwhile, Duterte’s defense counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, said that he will seek permission to appeal the decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber confirming the charges against Duterte. (DAA)
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