Impunity’s Sunset: When the Laws of Nature Meet the Laws of Man
While watching the confirmation of charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, I noted that Filipinos across the globe were tuned in. The ICC took the deliberate step of opening the proceedings to the media, creating a profound irony: ABS-CBN provided full coverage of the hearings years after Duterte himself ordered the network’s closure. He had justified the shutdown immediately after his election, claiming a crusade against “oligarchs.” Yet he simultaneously appointed Gina Lopez—a scion of that very media family—as his Environment Secretary. She was eventually discarded after she dared to challenge the mining conglomerates and suggested working with the New People’s Army to protect indigenous lands.
Duterte’s “culture of death” was fuelled by a perverse economy—cash rewards for vigilante kills—which led many to believe the state had money to burn. Imagine if those funds had been used to foster a culture of life, providing free healthcare and doctor’s appointments as they do in Cuba or other developed nations. Instead, his “War on Drugs” was merely a war against the poor. Most victims were plucked from the slums, with “high-value targets” like mayors or armed professionals serving as rare exceptions to the rule of killing the defenceless.
In Europe, there is a deep, historical sensitivity to the lack of accountability, or “impunity.” The scars of the Third Reich are impossible to erase. Thus, when Duterte compared his slaughter of drug users to the Holocaust, he triggered a collective, painful memory in the heart of the West.
Fortunately, Mr. Duterte is a “blabbermouth.” Each time he speaks, he effectively perjures himself. The evidence is so overwhelming that the defence has run into a formidable wall. Consequently, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman’s opening statement offered nothing new or interesting. He seemed to be there simply to appease his client and supporters—or, as some might say, “to earn his keep.”
The sun is setting on the entire dynasty. Vice President Sara Duterte is facing her own legal woes; her impeachment is yet another blow to the once-mighty family from Davao. Meanwhile, the legal team representing the victims has shown their mettle, appealing to the raw humanity of the court. The evidence presented was heart-wrenching: victims bound and bleeding, families drenched in tears. Had it not been for the ubiquity of mobile phone technology, the task of bearing witness might have been far more tenuous.
While the accused requested to be absent during this confirmation of charges, his presence in the dock will be mandatory once the trial begins. As Seneca once wrote: “All cruelty springs from weakness.”
The sun is finally going down on a time of the whip and the blindfold. We were told the world was a map of fear, but today, in the white halls of The Hague, the map is being redrawn. For every mother who wept into the soil and every voice the State tried to bury, this is the hour of the great unmasking. The powerful believed their crowns were made of stone; they discover now they were only made of smoke. No palace is thick enough to hide a man from his own truth. At last, the laws of the judges are catching up to the laws of the earth: what was sown in blood is being harvested in light.
From the ICC Flickr Account
Those who would give light must endure burning.
-Viktor Frankl