ICC-01/21-7-Red 14-06-2021 1/57 EK PT

CHR

Original: English No.: ICC-01/21

Date: 14 June 2021

PRE-TRIAL CHAMBER I

Before: Judge Péter Kovács, Presiding Judge

Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou
Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera

SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Public

Public redacted version of “Request for authorisation of an investigation

pursuant to article 15(3)”, 24 May 2021, ICC-01/21-7-SECRET-Exp

Source: Office of the Prosecutor

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Document to be notified in accordance with regulation 31 of the Regulations of the Court

to:

The Office of the Prosecutor Counsel for the Defence

Ms Fatou Bensouda
Mr James Stewart

Legal Representatives of the Victims Legal Representatives of the Applicants

Unrepresented Victims Unrepresented Applicants

(Participation/Reparation)

The Office of Public Counsel for Victims The Office of Public Counsel for the Defence

States’ Representatives Amicus Curiae

REGISTRY
Registrar Counsel Support Section
Mr Peter Lewis

Victims and Witnesses Unit Detention Section

Victims Participation and Reparations Other

Section

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I. INTRODUCTION

1. Pursuant to article 15(3) of the Rome Statute (“Statute”), the Prosecution hereby
requests authorisation to open an investigation into the Situation in the Republic of the
Philippines (“Philippines”) between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

2. The Prosecution submits that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the Crime
Against Humanity of Murder was committed from at least 1 July 2016 to 16 March 2019 in
the context of the Philippine government’s “war on drugs” (“WoD”) campaign. Information
obtained by the Prosecution suggests that state actors, primarily members of the Philippine
security forces,1 killed thousands of suspected drug users and other civilians during official
law enforcement operations. Markedly similar crimes were committed outside official police
operations, reportedly by so-called “vigilantes”, although information suggests that some
vigilantes were in fact police officers, while others were private citizens recruited, coordinated,
and paid by police to kill civilians. The total number of civilians killed in connection with the
WoD between July 2016 and March 2019 appears to be between 12,000 and 30,000.2

3. These extrajudicial killings, perpetrated across the Philippines, appear to have been
committed pursuant to an official State policy of the Philippine government. Police and other
government officials planned, ordered, and sometimes directly perpetrated extrajudicial
killings. They paid police officers and vigilantes bounties for extrajudicial killings. State
officials at the highest levels of government also spoke publicly and repeatedly in support of
extrajudicial killings, and created a culture of impunity for those who committed them.

4. The same types of actors also allegedly committed strikingly similar crimes in the city
and region of Davao (“Davao”), starting in 1988 and continuing through 2016. Given the
similarities between those killings and the nationwide WoD killings from July 2016 to March
2019, and the overlap of individuals involved during both periods, the Prosecution requests
that the 2011-2016 events in Davao be included within the requested investigation.

5. The Court has jurisdiction over these crimes. While the Philippines’ withdrawal from

1
The term “security forces” is used to refer broadly to members of Philippine law enforcement (including the
Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) and members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines. Other “state actors” have included various officials at the national and local government level. See
para. 83-86 below.
2
See para. 19, 120 below.

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the Statute took effect on 17 March 2019, the Court retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged
crimes that occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party, from 1
November 2011 up to and including 16 March 2019.

6. The Prosecution appends to this Request a table of contents (Annex 1); a risk
assessment (Annexes 2 and 3); a chronology of relevant events (Annex 4); and an explanatory
glossary of relevant names of institutions and of other acronyms (Annex 5). The Prosecution
confirms its readiness to provide additional information or respond to any questions by the
Chamber pursuant to regulation 28 of the Regulations of the Court.

II. LEVEL OF CONFIDENTIALITY

7. [REDACTED].

8. [REDACTED].

III. THERE IS A REASONABLE BASIS TO BELIEVE THAT CRIMES WITHIN

THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT HAVE BEEN COMMITTED

A. Context of the WoD campaign in the Philippines

9. In 2015, the Dangerous Drugs Board (“DDB”), the body tasked with defining the
Philippines’ policy and strategy on drug abuse prevention and control,3 commissioned a
nationwide survey which estimated that there were 1.8 million drug users in the Philippines, a
figure cited by the Government of the Philippines as the official number of drug users.4 In his
public speeches, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has frequently inflated this number,
claiming variously that there are “three million”5 and “four million addicts" in the Philippines.6
From as early as February 2016 and throughout the WoD, the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (“PDEA”) repeatedly reported that a high proportion of the country’s barangays were
“drug affected” – meaning that a drug user, dealer (or “pusher”), manufacturer, marijuana
cultivator, or other drug personality had been “proven” to exist in such locations – and

3
DDB, Vision, Mission, Mandate, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-3832.
4
See, e.g., PNP, PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Campaign Plan – Project: “Double Barrel”, Command Memorandum
Circular No. 16 – 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2490 at 2491 (“PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016”).
5
PCOO, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's Speech during the 80th National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
Founding Anniversary, 14 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3283 at 3286.
6
ABS-CBN News, Duterte defends killing of drug pushers, says they deserve death, 17 December 2016, PHL-
OTP-0002-0524 at 0525.

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indicated that the WoD should continue until all barangays could be considered cleared.7
According to the DDB, the most-used drugs in the Philippines are methamphetamine
hydrochloride (commonly known as “shabu”) and cannabis (marijuana).8

1. Period prior to the launch of the nationwide WoD campaign

10. During 1988-1998, 2001-2010, and 2013-2016, the current President of the Philippines,
Rodrigo Duterte, served as Mayor of Davao City.9 Throughout his tenure as Mayor, a central
focus of his efforts was fighting crime and drug use, earning him the nicknames “The Punisher”
and “Duterte Harry” for the violent manner in which he sought to combat crime.10 On multiple
occasions, Duterte publicly supported and encouraged the killing of petty criminals and drug
dealers in Davao City.11

11. During Duterte’s tenure as Mayor, Davao City police officers and the so-called “Davao
Death Squad” (“DDS”), a vigilante group comprising both civilian and police members linked
to the local administration, allegedly carried out at least 1,000 killings. Those killings share a
number of common features with killings during the later national WoD campaign, including
the victim profile, advance warning to the victim, perpetrator profile, the means used, and the
locations of incidents.12 In 2016 and 2017, two men, including a retired police officer, claimed
during Philippine Senate hearings to have been part of the DDS and to have been ordered and

7
See, e.g., PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2491; PDEA, 49.65% of Barangays Nationwide Drug-Affected: PDEA
(Press Release No. 355/17), 22 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2727.
8
Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board, Statistics 2016, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3809 at 3816, 3818, 3820.
See also PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2491.
9
BBC, Profile: Duterte the controversial “strongman” of the Philippines, 22 May 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0361 at
0363; CNN, Rodrigo Duterte Fast Facts, 22 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0384 at 0385; HRW, “You Can Die
Any Time”: Death Squad Killings in Mindanao, April 2009, PHL-OTP-0003-0886 at 0904-0906 (“You Can Die
Any Time”).
10
Reuters, Factbook: Rodrigo Duterte on crime and punishment, 13 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0124 at 0124;
BBC, Profile: Duterte the controversial “strongman” of the Philippines, 22 May 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0361 at
0365; News.com.au, The Philippines’ real-life Punisher, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, urged to run for
president, 2 July 2014, PHL-OTP-0003-0378 at 0378; HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0894.
11
Reuters, Philippine death squads very much in business as Duterte set for presidency, 25 May 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0014 at 0016; Politiko Politics, Duterte shares grisly secret to keeping Davao City as PH’s safest, updated
5 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1287 at 1287-1288; Inquirer, Duterte confirms “ties” with Davao Death Squad,
25 May 2015, PHL-OTP-0003-1290 at 1291; The Sydney Morning Herald, Philippine incoming President
Rodrigo Duterte urges public to kill drug users, 6 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0022 at 0022-0025; News.com.au,
The Philippines’ real-life Punisher, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, urged to run for president, 2 July 2014,
PHL-OTP-0003-0378 at 0378-0381.
12
HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0908-0909. See also News.com.au, The Philippines’ real-life Punisher, Davao
City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, urged to run for president, 2 July 2014, PHL-OTP-0003-0378; Inquirer, Summary:
Allegations of “DDS” member in Senate hearing, 15 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2029 at 2029-2031.

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financed by then-Mayor Duterte to carry out extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and
drug personalities.13

12. In 2016, Duterte ran for President of the Philippines. His campaign platform centred on
promises to launch a war on crime and drugs, inter alia, by replicating the strategies he
implemented in Davao City during his time as Mayor.14 On 9 May 2016, Duterte was elected
President of the Philippines, and he was sworn into office on 30 June 2016.15

2. Period from the launch of the WoD campaign on 1 July 2016 onwards

13. Immediately after being sworn in, President Duterte publicly stated that he would kill
suspected drug dealers and addicts, and he also urged the public to do so.16 On 1 July 2016,
the Philippine National Police (“PNP”) – under the leadership of PNP Chief Ronald “Bato”
Dela Rosa – issued Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 (“CMC No. 16-2016”),
launching Project “Double Barrel” and the national WoD campaign.17 CMC No. 16-2016
refers to the “[p]ronouncement of PRESIDENT RODRIGO R DUTERTE to get rid of illegal
drugs during the first six months of his term”. The stated purpose of “Double Barrel” was the
“neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide”.18 It involved conducting “operations
against illegal drug personalities and dismantling of drug syndicates”, in order to “clear all

13
[REDACTED]; Rappler, Duterte: “Thousands” killed in Davao City drug war, 24 February 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-2022 at 2024-2026; [REDACTED]; Inquirer, Summary: Allegations of “DDS” member in Senate hearing,
15 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2029 at 2029-2031; The Guardian, Philippines president ordered murders
and killed official, claims hitman, 15 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0579.
14
CNN, Obama calls Duterte, highlights shared human rights values, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0037 at
0037-0039; Metro, President-elect of Philippines pledges to kill 100,000 criminals in six months, 18 June 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0041 at 0041-0043; [REDACTED]; Philstar, Duterte admits to “bloody” presidency if he wins,
21 February 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1303; Inquirer, Kill the criminals! Duterte’s vote-winning vow, 16 March
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1305 at 1305-1308; Reuters, Factbook: Rodrigo Duterte on crime and punishment, 13 May
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0124 at 0124-0125.
15
PCOO, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Speech during his Inauguration as the 16 th President of the Republic
of the Philippines, 30 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3291; CNN, Rodrigo Duterte Fast Facts, 22 March 2019, PHL-
OTP-0003-0384 at 0385.
16
The Guardian, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts, 1 July 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0101 at 0101-0102; HRW, The Philippines’ Duterte Incites Vigilante Violence: President Encourages the
Jobless to Kill Drug Addicts, 19 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0657 at 0657-0658; Malay Mail Online, Philippine
police kill 10 in Duterte’s war on crime, 2 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0047 at 0048; [REDACTED]; Time, Inside
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs, 15 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0254.
17
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016. See also Human Rights Council, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Philippines, A/HRC/44/22, 4 June 2020, PHL-OTP-
0003-2968 at 2971 (“A/HRC/44/22”).
18
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2490-2491.

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drug affected barangays in the country” and to “pursue the neutralization of illegal drug
personalities as well as the backbone of illegal drugs network operating in the country.”19

14. Project Double Barrel had two basic components. The first, Operation Tokhang (or
“Oplan Tokhang”, meaning operation “knock and plead”), focused on house-to-house visits,
carried out to “persuade suspected illegal drug personalities to stop their illegal drug
activities”.20 The second, Operation High Value Target (“HVT” or “Oplan HVT”), focused on
various types of operations targeting high-value and street-level targets involved in trafficking
and selling illegal drugs, such as so-called “buy-bust” operations (a form of sting operation),
serving search and arrest warrants, carrying out raids, and setting up checkpoints.21 Although
these two components changed in some respects over time, they remained at the centre of the
PNP’s WoD strategy throughout the period covered by this Request.

15. Between July 2016 and March 2019, the WoD campaign can be divided into six
operational phases:

Phase 1 (1 July 2016 – mid-October 2016) saw the implementation of Project Double
Barrel in the first three months following Duterte’s inauguration. It included law
enforcement activities under both Operation Tokhang and Operation HVT.22 Amnesty
International (“AI”) called this period “Duterte’s 100 days of carnage”.23

During Phase 2 (26 October 2016 – 29 January 2017), the implementation of “Project
Double Barrel Alpha” expanded the scope of Double Barrel, focusing on the
“neutralization of high value targets” and extending Operation Tokhang to “schools,
business establishments, subdivisions and condominium”, in addition to visits to drug
suspects’ residences.24

19
PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments – 1st Semester 2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523;
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492.
20
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492. Regarding house visitations, see also generally A/HRC/44/22 at 2971.
21
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2495; Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Revised Anti-illegal Drugs Strategy
(PADS), 9 November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-3418 at 3450.
22
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2490, 2492.
23
AI, Philippines: Duterte’s 100 days of carnage, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0823.
24
PNP – Police Regional Office One, PRO1’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Campaign levels up to Double Barrel-Alpha, 2
November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2546 at 2547. See also PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments 1st Semester
2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523.

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Phase 3 (30 January 2017 – 5 March 2017) saw the temporary suspension of police anti-
drug operations, following the killing of Korean national Jee Ick Joo by PNP personnel.25
The Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (“AIDG”), the body responsible for “coordinat[ing] all anti-
illegal drug operations at all levels of command” within the PNP in the context of
Operation HVT,26 along with associated anti-illegal drug units from the national to police
station level, were dissolved on Duterte’s orders.27 Duterte ordered the PDEA to take over
all anti-drug-related operations, while the PNP was ordered to clean its ranks of so-called
“rogue” police, including those suspected to be involved in drug-related activities.28 The
Armed Forces of the Philippines (“AFP” or “armed forces”) were tasked with assisting the
PDEA in its work.29 On 27 February 2017, Duterte called for the resumption of PNP anti-
drug operations.30

Phase 4 (6 March 2017 – 10 October 2017) corresponded to the implementation of

“Project Double Barrel: Reloaded”, which relaunched Project Double Barrel “with a few
revisions in its mechanisms”.31 PNP Chief Dela Rosa promised that “this time it is going
to be more extensive, aggressive and well-coordinated”.32 Dela Rosa also promised “a less
bloody, if not bloodless” campaign.33 During this phase, Operation Tokhang was renamed
“Operation Tokhang: Revisited” and transformed into a “multi-sectoral Tokhang”,
whereby representatives of religious groups and elected barangay officials or Purok

25
PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments 1st Semester 2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523;
The Manila Times, Resume drug war, 27 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1552 at 1554-1555; see also CNN
Philippines, PNP Chief “Overwhelming evidence” vs. cop in Korean kidnap-slay, 27 January 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-0223.
26
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2495, 2501.
27
PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments 1st Semester 2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523;
Phil Star, Tokhang frozen AIDG dissolved; PNP out of drug war, 31 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1853 at 1853;
ABS-CBN News, PNP disbands police anti-drugs group, 30 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1950 at 1951.
28
PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments 1st Semester 2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523;
Rappler, Duterte orders “cleansing” of PNP, extends drug war again, 30 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1860 at
1860-1862; GMA News Online, As anti-drug ops take a backseat, PNP to focus on “internal cleansing”, 30
January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1947 at 1947-1948. See also PNP, Memorandum Circular No. 2017-013 PNP
Internal Cleansing Strategy, 21 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2584.
29
Al Jazeera, Philippines army may now join Duterte's “war on drugs”, 1 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0264
at 0264-0265.
30
ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at
0816; Reuters, Philippine president to bring police back into war on drugs, 28 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
0244 at 0244-0246.
31
RPIO Pro 7 on Facebook, On PNP’s Project Double Barrel: Reloaded, Oplan Tokhang: Revisited and Oplan
HVT: Revalidated, 16 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2554 at 2554.
32
Davao Today, “Oplan Double Barrel” Reloaded: “More extensive, aggressive, well-coordinated,” says Dela
Rosa, 6 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1673 at 1673.
33
Rappler, PNP relaunches war on drugs, vows “less bloody” campaign, 17 April 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1687 at
1687.

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(district) leaders participated in house-to-house visits.34 Operation HVT was also renamed
“Operation HVT: Revalidated” and targeted “prominent” officials and personalities
suspected to be involved in the illegal drugs trade.35 The PNP also established the Drug
Enforcement Group (“DEG”) to replace the defunct AIDG36 as a “national operational
support unit with the mission and function to be the lead unit in police anti-drug
operations”.37

Phase 5 (10 October 2017 – 4 December 2017) saw a second suspension of the police’s
involvement in anti-drug operations, following the highly publicised killing of teenager
Kian Delos Santos by members of the PNP, and increased public criticism of the WoD.38
Responsibility for “leading the all-out war against illegal drugs” was transferred to the
PDEA exclusively39 until 5 December 2017, when the PNP was again put in charge of
conducting anti-drug operations.40

Phase 6 (from 5 December 2017) signalled the return of the PNP to the conduct of WoD
operations, under the supervision of the PDEA.41 During this phase, on 21 April 2018,
Oscar Albayalde took over from Dela Rosa as head of the PNP. Albayalde reportedly
confirmed his commitment to continuing “the programs of the previous leadership”.42

34
RPIO Pro 7 on Facebook, On PNP’s Project Double Barrel: Reloaded, Oplan Tokhang: Revisited and Oplan
HVT: Revalidated, 16 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2554 at 2554; The Manila Times, PNP vows “less bloody”
Tokhang, 7 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1704 at 1705.
35
Manila Bulletin, “Less bloody, if not bloodless” illegal drugs campaign vowed, 7 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1716 at 1716.
36
PNP activates Drug Enforcement Group; Double Barrel Reloaded, Tokhang Revisited, 7 March 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-2551 at 2551; House of Representatives, Resolution No. 899, 16 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3501
at 3501.
37
Davao Today, “Oplan Double Barrel” Reloaded: “More extensive, aggressive, well-coordinated,” says Dela
Rosa, 6 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1673 at 1674.
38
PCOO, Duterte orders PDEA to lead campaign against illegal drugs, 11 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3720
at 3720; The President of the Philippines, Memorandum Order No. 17, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3319.
See also The Guardian, Rodrigo Duterte pulls Philippine police out of brutal war on drugs, 12 October 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-0269 at 0269-0270.
39
Office of the President, Memorandum from the President, 10 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0001-4065 at 4066;
PDEA, PDEA takes the lead in the war on drugs, 12 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2556 at 2557. See also
Rappler, PNP suspends Oplan Double Barrel, again, 12 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1463 at 1464-1465.
40
Office of the President, Memorandum Order No. 17 directing the PNP and other law enforcement agencies to
resume providing active support to the PDEA in the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations, 5 December 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-3319 at 3320.
41
PDEA, Press release: PDEA welcomes the return of PNP in the fight against illegal drugs, 25 November 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-2579 at 2580; Office of the President, Memorandum Order No. 17 directing the PNP and other
law enforcement agencies to resume providing active support to the PDEA in the conduct of anti-illegal drug
operations, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3319 at 3319-3320.
42
Rappler, PNP chief Oscar Albayalde’s inaugural speech, 20 April 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1468 at 1473.

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16. Since the launch of the WoD campaign, despite the high number of killings during
police anti-drug operations, President Duterte has repeatedly and publicly confirmed his
commitment to the continuation of the campaign.43 Other senior government and PNP officials
have also regularly spoken in support of Duterte’s anti-drug policies.44

17. WoD killings by Philippine security forces and “vigilantes” alike have generally
targeted persons – most often male – allegedly involved in illegal drug activities, including
those whose names appeared on so-called “drug watch lists” compiled by authorities or who
had previously “surrendered” to the police in connection to Operation Tokhang.45 The WoD
campaign was purportedly designed to target both high-level (drug lords, manufacturers,
distributers) and lower street-level (users and small-time drug dealers) “drug personalities”.46
However, the group most impacted by the campaign, and specifically by the killings, has been
poor, low-skilled residents of impoverished urban areas.47 For this reason, the Philippines’
WoD has been described as effectively a “war on the poor”.48

18. Other types of individuals have also been killed in the context of the WoD campaign,
such as public officials alleged to be involved in illegal drugs,49 including civil servants,
politicians, mayors, deputy mayors, and barangay-level officials;50 members of Philippine

43
See, e.g., BBC, Obama calls off meeting with Philippine leader after “whore” jibe, 6 September 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0137 at 0140. See also para. 101-104, 106-107 below.
44
See para. 105, 107 below.
45
See para. 72, 92 below.
46
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2491-2492, 2505.
47
[REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed: Extrajudicial executions in the Philippines’ “War on Drugs”,
January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0582 at 0587, 0621 (“AI, If you are poor, you are killed”); HRW, License to Kill:
Phillippine Police Killings in Duterte’s “War on Drugs”, March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0662 at 0686 (“HRW,
License to Kill”); ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The Unheard Stories, PHL-OTP-0003-1623 at 1628; ABS-
CBN News, Poor Filipinos most vulnerable in Duterte's drug war study, 25 June 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1634 at
1634-1639; The Guardian, The people left behind by Philippines’ brutal war on drugs, photo essay, 14 August
2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0232 at 0232-0239; The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When,
How?, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996 at 2996.
48
See, e.g., The Philippine Human Rights Information Center, The War on the Poor: Extrajudicial Killings and
their Effects on Urban Poor Families and Communities, 22 September 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2465 at 2465. See
also HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May
2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1233.
49
Duterte has described these individuals as “narco-officials” or “narco-politicians” and, during the period under
scrutiny, publicly identified a large number of them by name. PCOO, President Duterte bares names of narco-
politicians, 15 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-3503 at 3503-3505; Philippine News Agency, Duterte bares names
of 46 gov’t officials linked to drugs, 14 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1697 at 1698; Philippine News Agency,
Clean up act or clear your name, Go dares “narco politicians”, 18 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1700 at 1700-
1701. See also The New York Times, Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine President, Links 150 Public Servants to Drugs,
7 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0508.
50
See, e.g., ABS-CBN News, Duterte’s List: “Narco” politicos, lawmen, judges, 7 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
1661 at 1661-1664; DILG, Drug list to be given to PNP regional directors – Sueno, 23 January 2017, PHL-OTP-

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security forces suspected of being involved in drug activities or connected to drug personalities
(sometimes referred to as “ninja cops”);51 and police assets or informants.52

B. Murders allegedly committed in the context of the WoD since July 2016

19. The information reviewed by the Prosecution provides a reasonable basis to believe that
between at least 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019, members of Philippine security forces and
other, often associated, perpetrators deliberately killed thousands of civilians suspected to be
involved in drug activities. Although the precise number is difficult to ascertain, estimates of
the total number of persons killed in connection with the WoD during this period range from
12,000 to 30,000.53

0003-3826; ABS-CBN News, Some congressmen, mayors tagged in new “drug list” – PDEA, 5 June 2018, PHL-
OTP-0003-2252; ABS-CBN News, Ozamiz mayor, 14 others killed in police raid, 30 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1793; PDEA, Press Release: PDEA says only 289 barangay official in PRRD’S narco-list, 14 March 2018, PHL-
OTP-0003-2659. In some instances, individuals connected to public officials alleged to be drug personalities were
also killed, apparently as a result of this connection. [REDACTED].
51
ACLED, “Ninja” Cops: Duterte’s War on Police Linked to Illegal in the Philippines, 23 November 2018, PHL-
OTP-0003-1284; [REDACTED]; Philippine News Agency, Duterte increases bounty for “ninja cops” to P5-M,
18 August 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1571. See also PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2496-2497; PNP, MC No. 2017-
013 PNP Internal Cleansing Strategy, 21 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2584 at 3613; Office of the President,
The President’s report to the people 2016-2018, 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-3542.
52
[REDACTED]; Inquirer, “Bato” tells Antipolo cops: You will answer to me, 25 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0002-
0592.
53
HRW, Philippines Duterte’s “Drug War” Claims 12,000+ Lives, 18 January 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0796 at
0796; AI, Philippines: Amnesty International calls for independent investigation of human rights violations
committed in the context of the war on drugs, 19 February 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0799 at 0799; Commission on
Human Rights, Inputs to the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) on the implementation of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS), 1 May
2018 PHL-OTP-0003-3344 at 3347, para. 14; Reuters, War on numbers: Philippines targets drug killing data, 18
July 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0565 at 0566-0568; The Manila Times, Counting the killings: 20,000 and rising, 24
April 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1494 at 1494-1495; AI, “They Just Kill”: Ongoing Extrajudicial Executions and
Other Violations in the Philippines’ “War on Drugs”, July 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1004 at 1013 (“AI, They Just
Kill”); PhilStar, 29,000 deaths probed since drug war launched, 6 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0002-0601. See also
A/HRC/44/22 at 2972, para. 22. While the Philippine government – the main source for this information – has
released statistics on the number of persons killed in official anti-drug operations, its information on killings
attributed by authorities to “unidentified” perpetrators has been unclear, at times contradictory, and even allegedly
purposefully misleading. See, e.g., HRW, World Report 2019: Philippines – Events of 2018 – 2019, PHL-OTP-
0003-0803 at 0804; Reuters, War on numbers: Philippines targets drug killing data, 18 July 2019, PHL-OTP-
0003-0565 at 0566; AI, They Just Kill at 1013; The Atlantic, The Uncounted Dead of Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippine
Drug War, 19 August 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0550 at 0553. Numerous sources have alleged that Philippine
authorities actively engaged in an effort to misrepresent the total number of persons killed. See, e.g., Rappler,
Timeline: The PNP’s use of the term “deaths under investigation”, 30 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1551; ABS-
CBN News, Are #RealNumbers real? Rights defenders question state data on war on drugs, 6 April 2018, PHL-
OTP-0003-1806 at 1807; ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0812.

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20. The relevant WoD killings can be grouped into two broad categories: (i) those
perpetrated during official law enforcement anti-drug operations or in closely related contexts;
and (ii) those perpetrated outside of official operations.

1. Killings during official law enforcement operations and related contexts

21. Between 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019, according to the Philippine government’s
own numbers, members of the PNP and other security forces killed at least 5,281 civilians
during police anti-drug operations.54

22. The killings, according to the Philippine authorities, primarily occurred in the following
contexts: during purported “buy-bust” operations; in the course of Operation Tokhang house-
to-house visits; during “sweeps” or large-scale operations; in the context of other operational
activities such as checkpoints, raids, arrest or search and seizure operations; and while victims
were in police custody or in detention. According to non-State sources, however, official
accounts regularly misrepresented the true nature of the operations conducted. For example, as
highlighted below, while the PNP reported that many incidents occurred in the context of sting
operations, witness accounts and other information were often inconsistent with that
characterisation, suggesting instead operations deliberately aimed at killing the victims.55

23. Regardless of the type of operation claimed by the authorities, the killings show a
consistent fact pattern. As discussed below, in nearly all incidents reviewed by the Prosecution,
Philippine authorities have claimed that the victim pulled a gun and shot at officers (or
threatened violence), causing the officer(s) to return fire and kill the individual in self-
defence.56 However, as highlighted by a number of organisations documenting WoD killings,
eyewitness testimony and other information suggests that most victims did not pose a threat to
the police, and were instead killed in a premeditated manner.57 The incidents described below

54
PDEA, RealNumbersPH covering the period 1 July 2016 to 28 February 2019, March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-
2538.
55
See para. 24-30 below.
56
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0587-0588; Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly
record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0003 at 0003-0004; Reuters, Special Report:
Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at
0097. See also A/HRC/44/22 at 2972-2973, para. 23-24.
57
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0602-0610; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The Unheard
Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2271; [REDACTED];
Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0003 at 0004. See also [REDACTED].

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are merely representative of the various scenarios reported.

Killings during purported buy-bust operations

24. According to information from the Philippine authorities, more than half of the reported
WoD killings by members of the PNP or other State agencies occurred in the context of “buy-
bust” operations.58 The PNP defines these as police operations during which a plainclothes
officer acts as a “poseur buyer” of illegal drugs “for purposes of effecting the arrest of the
offender”.59 However, as discussed below, the accounts of eyewitnesses and other sources,
such as video footage, show that in many cases the narrative of a buy-bust operation is not
credible, and police killed the victims in cold blood. One police commander explained to
Reuters: “There is no such thing as a legitimate buy-bust operation. The dealers know the cops
and won’t sell to them.” He explained that a team of police officers “execute the target, who is
almost always unarmed, then plant guns and drugs at the crime scene to justify the use of
deadly force.”60

25. For example, police killed Noberto Maderal on 19 October 2016. The police claimed
that Maderal drew a gun and “tried to open fire” at plainclothes officers posing as drug buyers.
The victim’s nephew, however, stated that Maderal was unarmed, and that he heard Maderal
begging for his life before he heard the police fire two shots.61 Contrary to the police account,
the nephew said three men in plain clothes entered their home (without identifying themselves)
and dragged Maderal into the living room, fired two shots, and then left. Two neighbours
corroborated the nephew’s account.62 In another incident, on 6 December 2016, in Payatas
Village (Quezon City), 12-year-old Christine de Juan witnessed the police pushing her father,
who had been on a drug watch list, into an armchair, face-first with his knees on the cushion,
and then shooting him through the back of the head and in the chest at close range. The police

58
[REDACTED].
59
PNP, Revised PNP Manual on Anti-Illegal Drugs Operations and Investigation, PHL-OTP-0004-3198 at 3243,
sec. 3.1(a)(9)(c). See also id. at 3244-3247, sec. 3.1(b). This version of the manual is applicable to operations
carried out under Project Double Barrel. See PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2490.
60
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte's drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0097.
61
Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0003 at 0004, 0006.
62
Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0003 at 0006. For another similar incident, see Reuters, Davao boys: How a secretive police squad racked
up kills in Duterte’s drug war, 19 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0309 at 0324 (concerning the killing of
Bernabe Sabangan).

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report stated that de Juan was killed during a buy-bust operation, after he suddenly pulled out
a gun and fired at the officers.63

26. According to police, Neptali Celestino was killed after he shot at plainclothes officers
during a buy-bust operation on 12 September 2016. Police reported that they found a .22 calibre
revolver and three packets of shabu on him. However, according to Celestino’s family, police
entered their home, cornered Celestino, and shot him in front of his teenage sons. One son
reportedly told the police that his father was unarmed and begged them not to shoot, but they
shot and killed him anyway. Celestino had been on a watch list and had surrendered three days
prior to his death, attending a “drug awareness” seminar run by police and barangay officials.64

27. The PNP has consistently advanced the same general fact pattern for such killings,
claiming that during a buy-bust operation there was an attempt by plainclothes officers to catch
a suspect dealing drugs and that, in the course of the transaction, the victim “sensed” the
presence of police, drew a weapon, and started shooting, thereby triggering a “shootout” during
which police returned fire and killed the suspect.65 According to PNP records, a weapon (often
a .38 or .45 calibre gun, usually without a serial number) or drugs (typically shabu or
marijuana) or drug paraphernalia were recovered from the body of the victim or from the
scene.66 Usually no harm to the police was reported, despite the claimed “shootout”.67

28. Independent sources, meanwhile, have reported a variety of scenarios that in reality
suggest a targeted police raid (as opposed to a covert operation) aimed at killing the intended

63
Rappler, Impunity: This is where they do not die, 25 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2090.
64
Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0283-0284, 0288-0290.
65
See HRW, License to Kill at 0719, 0739, 0788-0794; Reuters, Police rank up an almost perfectly deadly record
in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0003 at 0004; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside Duterte’s
killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514; Rappler, Impunity: The Fifth Man, 5 December 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-2287; Rappler, Impunity: This is where they do not die, 25 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
2090; [REDACTED]. In some instances, police alternatively alleged that the victim was killed during a chase
after the victim sensed the presence of the police. See HRW, License to Kill at 0731-0733.
66
[REDACTED]. See also HRW, License to Kill at 0682-0683, 0709-0712, 0714-0715, 0717, 0719-0720, 0728,
0735, 0737, 0740-0742; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-
2270; [REDACTED]; The Inquirer, “Tokhang” data: Slain suspects carried mostly .38-caliber guns, 14 February
2018, PHL-OTP-0002-0603. [REDACTED].
67
[REDACTED]. For similar conclusions reached by other sources, see HRW, License to Kill at 0728, 0733,
0739; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0606. With respect to the lack of casualties to officers, the police have
claimed in a number of incidents that, when firing at police, the suspects missed or their weapons malfunctioned
(jammed, etc.). See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0719, 0739, 0788-0793; Reuters, Dead on Arrival: Philippine
police use hospitals to hide drug war killings, 29 June 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0523 (“Dead on arrival”);
[REDACTED].

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victim. In a number of instances, armed men in plain clothes and with masked faces, later
identified as police, reportedly arrived at the victim’s house (often in a van or on motorbikes),
barged into the house (frequently without identifying themselves), identified and confirmed
the presence of their target, isolated the victim by moving him away from relatives or other
potential witnesses, and then shot the victim.68 In some cases, the victim was dragged into an
alleyway and killed there or nearby.69 In other cases reported by the police as buy-bust
operations, witnesses claim the victim was asleep when the police raid took place.70

29. Witness accounts also contradict other aspects of police reporting. For example, across
a number of relevant incidents, witnesses claimed that the victim was unarmed,71 had already
been subdued by police (such as handcuffed or in a surrendering position),72 or pleaded for his
life before being shot by officers.73 In many instances, while the police reported recovering a
weapon and drugs from the victims, witnesses reported that these items had been planted or
that the victim did not possess any such item at the time of the killing.74

30. In other instances, although the police report indicates that the killing occurred in the
context of a buy-bust or similar operation, making no mention of any arrest, the victims were

68
See, e.g., HRW, License to Killl at 0714-0715, 0718-0721, 0726-0728, 0742-0743; AI, If you are poor, you are
killed at 0604-0607; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0289; Reuters, Burying
the Truth: A family challenges the official story of a killing in Duterte’s drug war, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0522.
69
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0737-0740; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0606; Reuters, Caught on
Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19. Security Cameras tell another, 27 November
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517.
70
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; HRW, License to Kill at 0718-0719, 0726-0728, 0731-0733.
71
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0603-0607, 0612-0613; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The
Unheard Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2271; Reuters,
Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0283; Reuters, Burying the Truth: A family
challenges the official story of a killing in Duterte’s drug war, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0522; HRW,
License to Kill at 0715, 0721, 0732.
72
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0599-0600, 0604; ABS-CBN News, War on
Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-2270; HRW, License to Kill at 0709, 0713-0714,
0720, 0738-0739; AI, They Just Kill at 1017-1018.
73
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0599, 0606-0607; HRW, License to Kill at 0709,
0742-0743; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0289; ABS-CBN News, War
on Drugs: The Unheard Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2271; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514;
[REDACTED].
74
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0709, 0717-0718, 0721-0722, 0742-0743, 0745-0747; [REDACTED]; ABS-
CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-2270; Al Jazeera, Philippines:
Inside Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0289. See also generally Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards,
staged crime scenes in Duterte's drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0097; The Washington Post,
In Duterte’s Philippines, here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after him, 4 August 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0524.

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last seen alive being taken into police custody.75 For example, police reported that Francisco
Santiago Jr was killed during a buy-bust operation, after Santiago’s companion took out a gun
and shot at policemen, forcing them to fire back.76 However, Santiago, who survived being
shot, explained that police in fact held him in the local police station for 12 hours before
bringing him to a dark alley, where they shot him in the chest.77

Killings during purported Tokhang operations

31. Tokhang operations refer, officially, to operations in which the PNP, in some cases
accompanied by local officials, visit drug suspects at their homes and urge them to abandon
their involvement in drugs and to surrender to the police.78 Information shows however that
deliberate, apparently planned, killings took place during or after some such operations.79

32. When reporting deaths during Tokhang operations, law enforcement agencies typically
reported that drug suspects (or other persons targeted by the visits) reacted violently against
the officers, who then used lethal force in response, killing the victim.80 However, individuals
who witnessed killings during Tokhang operations have consistently contradicted that official
narrative. In some cases, the police appear to have used the cover of Tokhang operations to
murder drug suspects, later reporting an alternate course of events in order to conceal the true
nature of the operations.81 Sources also indicate that Tokhang operations were sometimes used
by the police to ascertain or confirm the identity or presence of a drug suspect, who was then
killed in a subsequent operation.82

33. An emblematic case of murder and attempted murder in the course of a purported
Tokhang operation involved Efren Morillo.83 According to Morillo, police officers in civilian

75
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; HRW, License to Kill at 0709-0712; [REDACTED].
76
The Washington Post, In Duterte’s Philippines, here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after
him, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0524; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Play dead to survive Duterte’s drug war, 23
September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0518; [REDACTED].
77
The Washington Post, In Duterte’s Philippines, here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after
him, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0524; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Play dead to survive Duterte’s drug war, 23
September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0518; [REDACTED].
78
See PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492-2495, 2508 (defining the conduct of knock-and-plead operations). See
also Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0287.
79
[REDACTED].
80
[REDACTED].
81
[REDACTED]; Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2064.
[REDACTED].
82
HRW, License to Killl at 0676; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0600-0601.
83
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0609; [REDACTED].

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clothes detained him and four friends in a house, pointing guns at them and tying them up.84
The policemen later shot each of the five in execution-style killings, some inside the house and
some outside.85 Morillo, who was wounded, played dead and heard many gunshots as well as
screams and cries.86 Other witnesses indicated that they saw one victim on his knees, crying
and begging right before he was shot.87 Morillo’s account of the incident is supported by an
independent assessment of the autopsy findings and medical records by Physicians for Human
Rights.88 The PNP, meanwhile, reported that the killings took place during a Tokhang
operation and that the five men fired at the police officers, who shot back and killed four men,
whilst Morillo was wounded and escaped.89

34. In another incident, police reported that on 13 September 2016, Rex Appari was shot
and killed during a Tokhang operation. According to the police report, patrolling officers
identified themselves as police and approached Appari, who “suddenly drew out his gun and
fired shot on the approaching lawmen but […] missed his mark”, after which the police were
“constrained to retaliate.”90 By contrast, several witnesses reported that plainclothes police
entered Appari’s home and, in front of his mother and girlfriend, dragged out Appari, who was
crying and begging the men to not to kill him. Reportedly, one of the armed men was overheard
saying “Sir, you can have him brought down, sir, we’re killing him. It’s positive”. The men
subsequently shot Appari in the back of the head. After uniformed police later arrived and kept

84
[REDACTED]; The New York Times, A Rare Survivor of a Philippines Drug Raid Takes the Police to Court,
10 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0521; [REDACTED]; Asian American Legal Defence and Education Fund,
Congress Shine Light on Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines; A Survivor’s tale under oath, 24 July 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-1055.
85
[REDACTED]; Amnesty International Interview, Metro Manila 2 December 2016 cited in AI, If you are poor,
you are killed at 0609; Rappler, Impunity: The Fifth Man, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2287; Rappler, A
gruesome tale of TakHang: Sir, may humihinga pa’, 21 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2281.
86
[REDACTED]; Rappler, Forensic evidence backs Tokhang survivor’s claim of “merciless” execution’ 6
December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2282. [REDACTED].
87
Rappler, Impunity: The Fifth Man, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2287; Rappler, A gruesome tale of
TakHang: Sir, may humihinga pa’, 21 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2281.
88
Rappler, Impunity: The Fifth Man, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2287. The organisation found the
account of Morillo was consistent with the available evidence, whereas there was a lack of evidence to support
the police officers’ account that the victims who died were killed in a gunfight. Ibid. On the basis of the accounts
of Morillo and the other witnesses, murder charges were filed against the implicated policemen. AI, If you are
poor, you are killed at 0609; Rappler, Tokhang victim files murder charges vs cops, 2 March 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-2288.
89
Inquirer, The Case Against Bato and Oplan Tokhang, 30 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2277; Inquirer, Former
QC Cop in Payatas killing insists there was shootout, 12 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2276; [REDACTED].
90
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2058. [REDACTED].

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the family outside, two more shots were heard from inside the home, and later his family saw
that Appari had wounds to his head, gut, and chest.91

Killings in the context of “One Time, Big Time” operations

35. Police also killed victims during so-called “One Time, Big Time” (“OTBT”)
operations, large-scale, high-intensity police operations in which activities like sweeps, buy-
busts, and checkpoints are carried out simultaneously in multiple locations.92

36. One well-known example is the death of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, killed by the
PNP on 16 August 2017. Witness testimony and CCTV footage indicates that immediately
prior to being shot, Delos Santos was dragged unarmed into an alley by police officers and was
overheard begging for his life.93 Delos Santos’s body was subsequently found dead in the same
alley. An autopsy showed that he died of three gunshot wounds to the head and back, the first
and second of which were fired when the victim was on the ground, facedown.94 The police
claimed, however, that Delos Santos was killed during an OTBT operation when he tried to
evade arrest and opened fire on the police.95

91
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2061-2062. [REDACTED].
92
[REDACTED]; Rappler, How the PNP’s one-time, big-time operations work, 27 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1718; Sunstar, “Successful” big-time drug raid ops in Davao lauded, 20 May 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1754;
Rappler, 32 dead, 107 arrested in Bulacan “one-time, big-time” operation, 16 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1733;
ABS-CBN, Bloodiest week yet, At least 80 dead in Duterte’s war on drugs, 18 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1736; Philippine News Agency, 6 killed in Cebu “One Time, Big Time” operation, 18 July 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-
1777; Inquirer, 13 dead in One-Time-Big-Time cop operation in Central Visayas, 4 October 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-1780; Manila Bulletin, 3 killed, P15M shabu seized in C. Visayas anti-drug operations, 10 December 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-1784; Inquirer, 6 killed, 16 arrested in simultaneous police operations in Negros Oriental, 27
December 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1791.
93
GMA News Online, Grade 11 Student Killed during anti-drug op in Caloocan, 17 August 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-2273; Philstar Global, Boy, 17, killed in Caloocan drug operation, 17 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2280;
Philstar, “Kian begged for his life before cops shot him”, 3 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2279; Reuters, Death
of a Schoolboy, 25 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0547; Inquirer, Autopsy shows Kian died of 3 gunshot wounds,
21 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2275; GMA News Online, The Kian Delos Santos Case, 29 November 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-2274; The Guardian, ‘Please Stop!’ Brutal killing of a Student in Philippines Drug War Sparks
Nationwide Anger, 23 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0520; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the
“War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1235-1236.
94
Inquirer, Autopsy shows Kian died of 3 gunshot wounds, 21 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2275.
95
Rappler, How Kian Delos Santos was killed, according to Police, 20 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2283.
According to the PNP report, a .45-caliber pistol, four cartilage cases and two plastic sachets containing white
crystalline substances believed to be shabu were recovered from Santos’s body. Ibid. Three police officers, who
had claimed self-defence, were later convicted for the killing. Republic of the Philippines, Regional Trial Court
(National Capital Judicial Region), People of the Philippines v. Arnel Oares Gastillo et al., Decision, 29
November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-3109 at 3113-3129, 3141-3142 (“Kian case”). See also HRW, World Report
2019: Philippines – Events of 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0803; Rappler, Court verdict cops lied, Kian Delos Santos
helplessly killed, 29 November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1478; Rappler, Rappler Talk: Prosecuting extrajudicial
killings in the Philippines, 6 December 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1942. However, Caloocan City police chief Senior
Superintendant Chito Bersaluna, in charge of operations including that in which Kian was killed, was removed

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37. In some cases, victims were taken into custody by police and later found dead. Despite
obvious discrepancies in the timeline, police claimed that such victims were killed in shootouts
after resisting arrest. In one example, police reported that Christian De Leon and his nephew
Joeward Valiente were shot and killed during an OTBT operation on 17 August 2017, after
they resisted arrest.96 However, CCTV and eyewitness accounts confirmed that the two victims
were arrested and handcuffed earlier that night; they were later found dead with torture marks
and multiple gunshot wounds on their bodies.97

38. [REDACTED.98 [REDACTED].99 [REDACTED].100

Killings in other official operations

39. Police frequently reported that killings at checkpoints or during patrols resulted from
drug suspects refusing to stop and firing at the police, requiring the police to spontaneously
return fire.101 However, the available information indicates that at least some of these
reportedly reactive killings took place during planned operations.102

40. For example, according to police, on 10 October 2016, Mario Rupillo was shot and
killed by an anti-criminality patrol after he failed to stop his motorcycle and fired shots at the
police. Witnesses, however, saw Rupillo brought in handcuffs into a police station, where he

from his position rather than charged with any crime, and nine months after Kian’s death, was promoted to police
chief of Bulacan province. HRW, Philippine Police Promotions an Affront to “Drug War” victims, 7 June 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-1049; Inquirer, Command responsibility? Chiefs of erring cops go scot-free, 4 November 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-2189.
96
Rappler, Manila overnight police operation kills 25, arrests 119, 17 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2284.
97
[REDACTED].
98
[REDACTED].
99
[REDACTED].
100
[REDACTED].
101
[REDACTED]; ABS-CBN News, Maguindanao mayor tagged as “narco-politician” slain, 28 October 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-2289; Reuters, Four drug suspects killed as Philippine police resume drugs war operations, 7
March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0525; Cebu Daily News, 53 killed since December as PNP rejoins anti-drug war,
10 February 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2290; Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
2049.
102
See for example the incident concerning the killing of Samsudin Dimaukom, Mayor of Datu Saudi Ampatuan:
ABS-CBN News, Maguindanao mayor tagged as “narco-politician” slain, 28 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2289; Rappler, Maguindanao mayor on Duterte drug list killed in shootout, 26 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2291; Reuters, Detained Philippine mayor on Duterte’s drug list killed in prison shootout, 5 November 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0526; The New York Times, Philippine Mayor Accused of Drug Links by Duterte Is Killed by
Police, 28 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0395; The Straits Times, Former Philippine mayor killed hours after
President Duterte threatens to slit throats of big time drug dealers, 4 January 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0527; Rappler,
The Duterte list: Judges, mayors, police officials linked to drugs, 7 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2292.

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was interrogated and beaten and later dragged out of the station, with a sack over his head, and
left in the back of a waiting tricycle. Later that day, Rupillo’s body appeared in a hospital
morgue. He had been shot seven times. Rupillo’s brother stated that his body also showed signs
of beating, including bruised kneecaps, swollen arms, and broken shoulders. Rupillo’s brother
also claimed that the gun allegedly recovered at the scene did not belong to Rupillo.103

41. A similar incident involved the killing of 18-year-old Joshua Cumilang. A witness
stated that he, Cumilang, and two other young men were sitting outside their shanty when two
armed men in civilian clothing approached them, searched Cumilang, accused him of using
marijuana, and then took him to a small alley beside the house. Cumilang’s mother pleaded
with the men not to do anything and just to arrest him, but men shot and killed Cumilang. The
police report of the incident states that Cumilang was shot in self-defence during an anti-
criminality patrol after he fired twice at officers.104

42. Members of law enforcement also conducted raids resulting in the killing of drug
suspects.105 These incidents reveal a pattern in which police typically raided a house or other
location, often when the victim was asleep or at home with his family, isolated the victim (such
as by sending any witnesses to another room), and then shot the victim. Victims of such raids
were frequently on drug watch lists or were suspected drug personalities. The police
consistently reported that these deaths resulted from officers acting in self-defence.106
Frequently, however, witnesses or family members claim they saw evidence being planted in
the aftermath of such raids and that, contrary to the police account, the victim was not in
possession of drugs or weapons at the time.107

43. A number of killings also took place during search or arrest operations, or soon after
the victim was taken into custody.108 Information suggests that the police often carried out such

103
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2066-2069.
104
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2055.
105
[REDACTED].
106
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0603-0604; HRW, License to Kill at 0716-0717, 0736-0737,
0740-0741; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines,
May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1238, 1252-1253, 1261.
107
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0611-0614; HRW, License to Kill at 0673, 0715, 0716, 0742; HRW, “Our
Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-
0003-1218 at 1253.
108
[REDACTED].

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operations with the intention of killing the victims, despite claims of self-defence.109 In one
incident, the police reported that three victims opened fire while being served with an arrest
warrant.110 Witnesses, however, stated that the men did not fight back and that one of the
victims, after being shot, was dropped from a window while still alive and left on the ground
to bleed to death.111

44. In several reported incidents, victims were last seen alive when arrested by the police.112
For example, on 18 August 2016, Angelo Lafuente and two others seen taken into custody by
police officers, who tied the victims’ hands behind their backs and put them into a police van.
Early the next day, police showed the victims’ relatives photos of the three men’s bodies, which
the police claimed had been found in different areas in the neighbourhood. The victims’ hands
were still tied with the same plastic straps put on when they were detained earlier. The police
report indicated that the victims were killed by “unknown” gunmen and made no reference to
the victims having been taken into police custody hours earlier.113 In another incident, Danilo
Dacillo was arrested by barangay officials as a suspected drug user and taken to the village
hall. His aunt was later told by police that they had killed him.114

Killings of persons acknowledged to be in police custody or detention

45. The Philippine authorities acknowledge that some victims were killed while in police
custody.115 As with other WoD killings, the authorities consistently claim the victims engaged
in violence – such as waving a weapon or attempting to take an officer’s weapon – causing
officers to shoot and kill them. However, other information undermines the official accounts.

109
See for example an incident concerning the killing of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and several other
associated individuals: Al Jazeera, Police kill Reynaldo Parojinog and wife in drug raid, 30 July 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-0519; Rappler, Ozamiz mayor Parojinog killed in police raid, 30 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2285; ABS-
CBN News, Vice Mayor Parojinog: They wanted me dead, 4 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2272; Manila
Bulletin, Ozamiz mayor, 14 others killed in drug raid, 31 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2278. [REDACTED].
110
[REDACTED].
111
Inquirer, Police Station 6, 23 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2084 at 2085.
112
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0715-0716.
113
HRW, License to Kill at 0722-0723.
114
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2070-2073; Rappler, Witnesses
name Manila policeman behind drug-related summary killings, 27 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2332.
115
[REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0608-0610; Rappler, LIST: Suspected drug lords killed
under Duterte gov’t, 30 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2254; The Manila Times, Duterte probing “detailed” drug
list, 17 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1382.

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46. One example is the case of father and son Renato and Jaypee Bertes, who were killed
on 7 July 2016 while being held at the Pasay City police detention centre after being arrested
for drug-related offences.116 Police claimed the victims were shot in self-defence when they
attempted to grab officers’ guns while being transferred to their cell.117 Results of an
investigation (including forensic examination) by the Philippines Commission for Human
Rights (“CHR”), however, found that the two victims “had been incapacitated by the beatings
before they were shot [and] Jaypee Bertes had a broken right arm”, and thus could have
engaged in the violent attack claimed by police.118

47. A similar example is that of Rolando (or Ronaldo) Espinosa Sr, former Mayor of Leyte,
who was personally identified by Duterte as a high-value drug personality and later arrested
by the PNP following a raid of his home.119 On 5 November 2016, Espinosa was reportedly
killed in a “shootout” in his cell at the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Baybay City.120 However,
following an internal investigation, the Philippine Department of Justice (“DoJ”) concluded
that members of the PNP planned the killing of Espinosa and his cell mate, and had “craftily
executed the killings under the pretense of implementing a search warrant”.121 These
conclusions led to the indictment of several officers suspected of conspiring to commit the

116
Inquirer, Pasay cops who shot father, son face raps, 27 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2297; The New York Times,
Chilling Tale in Duterte’s Drug War: Father and Son Killed in Police Custody, 19 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
0529; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0608; ABS-CBN News, CHR probe finds evidence of EJK in Bertes
case, 21 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2299. [REDACTED].
117
Inquirer, Pasay cops who shot father, son face raps, 27 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2297. See also The New
York Times, Chilling Tale in Duterte’s Drug War: Father and Son Killed in Police Custody, 19 August 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0529.
118
The New York Times, Chilling Tale in Duterte’s Drug War: Father and Son Killed in Police Custody, 19
August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0529; Rappler, CHR: Police “tortured” father-son drug suspects killed in Pasay
jail, 22 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2298; AI, If you are poor, you are killed, at 0608. In light of these events,
already in July 2016, the Pasay City police recommended the filing of murder charges and an administrative
complaint against the two officers involved in the killing. Inquirer, Pasay cops who shot father, son face raps, 27
July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2297. The alleged conduct of the two officers involved was also the subject of a senate
inquiry. Inquirer, 2 Pasay cops refuse to testify in Senate inquiry, 23 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2300.
119
Rappler, The Duterte list: Judges, mayors, police officials linked to drugs, 7 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2292; GMA News Online, Duterte gives Leyte mayor 24 hours to surrender over alleged drug links, 1 August
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2293; [REDACTED].
120
GMA News Online, From the arrest to the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, 5 November 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-1703. According to ABS-CBN, the police alleged that Espinosa and Yap were in possession of
drugs and guns and thus were being served a search warrant. ABS-CBN News, PNP to probe “killing pattern” in
Espinosa-linked police ops, 14 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2294. [REDACTED].
121
ABS-CBN News, DOJ: Supt. Marcos, other cops conspired to kill Espinosa, 20 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0001-
4071. See also AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0608; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside Duterte’s killer drug
war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514. Photos of Espinosa’s body retrieved by the PCIJ showed the
mayor’s body with “both of his hands empty of a gun”, in contrast with “an official photo released by the CIDG
which show[ed] a gun clasped in Espinosa’ s right hand”. ABS-CBN News, PNP to probe “killing pattern” in
Espinosa-linked police ops, 14 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2294.

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killings.122 In March 2017, referring to the 19 police officers charged for Espinosa’s killing,
Duterte stated: “Who will I believe? The witnesses in jail, or my cops? My cops. They have
been charged with murder. I will support them. There is no problem.”123 Other incidents of
killings in detention demonstrate a similar pattern of conduct.124

Justifications for killings advanced by the Philippine authorities are not credible

48. The Philippine authorities have not denied that people were killed during police anti-
drug operations.125 They have instead consistently contended that these deaths resulted from
officers acting in self-defence during armed confrontations with drug suspects who “fought
back” (a scenario known locally as “nanlaban”).126

49. The question of whether a particular perpetrator acted in self-defence is best addressed
at the investigation and trial stages, as opposed to the preliminary examination stage. 127 This
follows not only from the nature and extent of information typically available prior to an
investigation, but also from the nature of analysis conducted during a preliminary examination.
The purpose of the Prosecution’s assessment at this stage is to determine whether there is a
reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction have been committed
(i.e., establishing subject-matter jurisdiction), not to assess or evaluate the alleged criminal
responsibility of individual perpetrators for particular incidents.128

50. However, because self-defence has been raised broadly and consistently by the

122
ABS-CBN News, DOJ: Supt. Marcos, other cops conspired to kill Espinosa, 20 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0001-
4071.
123
Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2080.
124
See, e.g., GMA News Online, From the arrest to the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, 5 November
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1703; GMA News Online, Cops kill Kerwin Espinosa’s drug source at Leyte prison, 11
August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2295; The Manila Times, Killing of Albuera mayor premeditated – Senate
committee report, 13 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2296; ABS-CBN News, PNP to probe “killing pattern” in
Espinosa-linked police ops, 14 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2294.
125
See, e.g., PNP, #RealNumbersPH Year 2 (from July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018), PHL-OTP-0003-2513 at
2513.
126
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5
December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0003; Reuters, Davao boys: How a secretive police squad racked up kills in
Duterte’s drug war, 19 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0309; DW, Can anyone believe what Duterte says?, 6
September 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0409 at 0409-0410; The Drug Archive, Building a dataset of publicly available
information on killings associated with the anti-drug campaign, PHL-OTP-0003-3037 (“Building a dataset”).
127
See OTP, Comoros Article 53(1) Report, 6 November 2014, para. 20, 55-57. Self-defence is recognised as a
ground for excluding criminal responsibility under article 31(1)(c) of the Statute. The applicability of article
31(1)(c) is dependent on the particular factual circumstances in which an alleged incident or act occurred.
128
See generally Kenya Article 15 Decision, para. 29, 32.

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Philippine authorities as justification for alleged extrajudicial killings, this issue may be
relevant not only to the criminal responsibility of individual perpetrators and the lawfulness of
particular killings, but also to the Prosecution’s determination of whether there is a reasonable
basis to believe that the respective conduct collectively amounts to an “attack” within the scope
of article 7(2)(a) of the Statute and/or whether any such attack was widespread or systematic
under article 7(1) of the Statute.129 Consequently, the Prosecution has carefully considered the
arguments advanced by the Philippine authorities.

51. International standards and the PNP’s own operational procedures allow law
enforcement personnel to use intentional lethal force only exceptionally, namely when it is
strictly unavoidable in order to protect life and all other means are insufficient to achieve that
objective (i.e., when the use of lethal force is necessary and proportionate).130

52. In February 2018, the PDEA reported that between 1 July 2016 and 8 February 2018,
87 police officers were killed and 227 were wounded during anti-drug operations.131 However,
to date, the Philippine authorities have not provided any detailed information on the precise
circumstances (or identified the specific incidents) in which most of the reported deaths or
injuries occurred.132 Further, on other occasions, Philippine authorities have provided
significantly different (including lower) figures for the total number of relevant law
enforcement casualties.133 Despite these inconsistencies, the Prosecution acknowledges that

129
This approach adopted in the present situation is also consistent with the duty under article 54(1)(a) relating to
objectivity, which the Prosecution has previously indicated is also applied at the preliminary examination stage.
See Statute, article 54(1)(a); OTP, Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations, November 2013, para. 30.
130
Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the 1990 UN
Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, PHL-OTP-0001-4114 at 4115-4116,
Principles 4, 5, 9, 15, 16; Revised PNP Operational Procedures (December 2013), PHL-OTP-0001-4124 at 4153-
4154, Rule 8.1 (concerning the “Use of firearm when justified”); PNP, PNP Guidebook on Human Rights-Based
Policing, PHL-OTP-0003-2660 at 2687, 2690. See also UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, UN
GA Resolution 34/169 (1979), PHL-OTP-0001-4118 at 4118-4119, art. 3 (and commentary). Regarding the
burden of proof, the Philippine Supreme Court previously ruled that the invocation of a justifying circumstance
means that the accused has the burden of proving the existence of such a circumstance, and that the presumption
of regularity does not apply when any taint of irregularity is present in the police operation. [REDACTED]. See
also A/HRC/44/22 at 2973, para. 27.
131
PDEA, #RealNumbersPH Update: Drug Law Enforcers Killed and Wounded in Anti-Drug Operations, 14
February 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2726.
132
Nor is there information available from other sources to independently corroborate the Philippine government
figures. The validity of statistics provided by the authorities has also been questioned. See, e.g., Reuters, Suspect
Stats: As death toll rises, Duterte deploys dubious date in “war on drugs”, 18 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
0538.
133
Benar News, Philippine Police Bump Up Drug-War Death Toll to 6,600, 19 June 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0578;
Xinhua, 50 Police dead, 144 wounded in Philippines’ war on drugs, 1 July 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0576; ABC
News, 7,800 police in Philippines punished for deadly drug raids, 18 July 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0577.

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there could have been some incidents in which use of lethal force was lawful.

53. However, the Philippine authorities’ official narrative that killings were only committed
in self-defence is consistently undermined by other information. As briefly discussed below,
this information provides a sufficient basis to conclude that killings by law enforcement in
connection with the WoD were, at least in large part, not justified by self-defence.

i. Indications of planning and intentional killings

54. As noted above, the Philippine authorities’ descriptions of police killings have
consistently been contradicted by other evidence, including accounts from eyewitnesses and
survivors. In many incidents, it appears that the killings neither occurred in “shootouts” nor
were otherwise justified, but instead resembled summary executions.134

55. For example, witnesses frequently stated that victims were unarmed and did not resist
arrest or violently confront the police,135 and described seeing or hearing the victims
surrendering to officers and/or pleading for their lives immediately before they were shot.136
In some instances, security camera surveillance footage or other video evidence also

134
See para. 21-64 above. See also AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0587-0589, 0601-0613; AI, They Just
Kill at 1013-1021; HRW, License to Kill at 0708-0722, 0725-0728, 0731-0743, 0745-0747; HRW, “Our Happy
Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218
at 1250, 1252, 1261; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The Unheard Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for
their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2271; [REDACTED]; Rappler, Impunity: In the Name of the Father,
8 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2091 at 2093-2096 (regarding the killing of five men on 14 August 2016 in
Payatas-A); Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0003; Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049; [REDACTED].
135
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0603-0608, 0611-0614; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The Unheard
Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2271; Reuters, Caught
on Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19. Security Cameras tell another, 27 November
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517; HRW, License to Kill at 0707-0747; The Washington Post, In Duterte’s Philippines,
here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after him, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0524; Al
Jazeera, Philippines: Play dead to survive Duterte’s drug war, 23 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0518. In some
cases, relatives of the victims also asserted that the victim did not even own or otherwise possess a gun. See, e.g.,
ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”; PHL-OTP-0003-2270; Al Jazeera,
Philippines: Inside Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514; [REDACTED].
136
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0599, 0604, 0606-0607, 0613; HRW, License
to Kill at 0709, 0713, 0726-0728, 0731, 0734, 0736, 0742-0743; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: The Unheard
Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2271; ABS-CBN News,
War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-2270; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside
Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514; Reuters, Burying the Truth: A family
challenges the official story of a killing in Duterte’s drug war, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0522;
[REDACTED]; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the
Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1250, 1252, 1261; [REDACTED].

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contradicted police accounts, while supporting witness testimony that the victims were
unarmed, did not resist, or posed no threat at the time they were killed.137

56. Some victims were last seen alive in police custody, and yet police reports indicated
that the killings occurred during a buy-bust or similar operation, with no mention of any
arrest.138 One survivor described being held at a police station before the police drove him to
a dark alley, shot him in the chest, and placed a gun next to him.139 Other victims were seen
surrendering to law enforcement (such as by lying or sitting down, kneeling, arms raised
behind their head, handcuffed, hands tied, hands placed behind their head, etc.) or otherwise
in a vulnerable position (such as sleeping, on the ground being kicked, etc.) before being
shot.140 [REDACTED].141

57. A number of statements by local officials and insiders also indicate that killings were
planned in advance, rather than arising spontaneously when suspects “fought back”. One police
commander in Manila, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, stated that his officers
were instructed to shoot at “sensitive areas” and that suspects who survived were shot again or
smothered with their own clothing to “finish them off”.142 Another police commander told

137
Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0514 (Eric Sison
case); [REDACTED]; Reuters, Caught on Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19.
Security Cameras tell another, 27 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517 (Kian Delos Santos case); Reuters,
Caught on Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19. Security Cameras tell another, 27
November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517 (case of Rolando Campo, Sherwin Bitas, and Ronnie Cerbito); Reuters,
Operation Kill (an interactive multimedia supplement to the article “Caught on Camera”), 27 November 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0548 (with timeline of events and relevant video footage related to the killing of Campo and the
others).
138
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; HRW, License to Kill at 0710-0712, 0716; [REDACTED]; The Washington Post, In
Duterte’s Philippines, here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after him, 4 August 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0524; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Play dead to survive Duterte’s drug war, 23 September 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0518; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0609.
139
The Washington Post, In Duterte’s Philippines, here’s how one man survived when a death squad came after
him, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0524; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Playing dead to survive Duterte’s drug war,
23 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0518.
140
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0599, 0603, 0606, 0608; ABS-CBN News, War
on Drugs: The Unheard Stories: Cops gun down suspects begging for their lives, October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2271; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-2270; Vice, Bodies
Every Night: Documenting the Brutal Philippine Drug War, 22 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0530; HRW,
License to Kill at 0709, 0713, 0720; [REDACTED]; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on
Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1250, 1252.
141
[REDACTED].
142
Reuters, Dead on arrival, 29 June 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0523.

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Reuters that buy-bust operations were actually well-planned executions of targets chosen from
lists of suspects drawn up by police and local officials.143 [REDACTED].144

58. Additionally, while authorities claim that police only killed drug suspects in self-
defence, statements by some public officials suggest that they considered the killings an
achievement and an integral component of the WoD campaign, regardless of whether they
were justified. For example, Duterte praised the increasing number of police killings as proof
of the “success” of his “war on drugs”.145 Duterte also made a number of public statements
encouraging members of security forces to kill drug suspects, regardless of whether they posed
an imminent threat, and promising to shield such perpetrators from accountability. 146 During
an interview with Reuters, Romeo Caramat, a police chief in Bulacan province, described the
17,000 drug dealers and users in his province as “a walking time bomb” and, in reference to
the anti-drug campaign, expressed: “It will be bloody. You have a problem with dengue. You
think you can solve it without killing mosquitos?”147 In reference to killings during the first
three months of the WoD campaign, one senior PNP police officer told The Guardian
newspaper: “We are not that bad policemen or bad individuals. We are just a tool, we are just
angels that God gave talent to, you know, get these souls back to heaven and cleanse them.”148

ii. Victims’ wounds are inconsistent with self-defence

59. Victims often sustained wounds inconsistent with mere defensive action by the police.
For example, many victims were shot multiple times, even 8 to 10 times and in one documented
case 30 times, and a number of victims sustained gunshot wounds to their backs or at the back
of their heads.149 Sources stated that the bodies of victims displayed gunshot wounds to
locations or from apparent angles suggesting that they were executed rather than killed in
shootouts (such as wounds under the chin, to the temple or in the back, or from downward
trajectories); indications that the victim had been restrained prior to being shot (such as bruises

143
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0097.
144
[REDACTED].
145
HRW, License to Kill at 0676.
146
See para. 103-104, 106-107, 115-116 below.
147
Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0289.
148
The Guardian, Philippines secret death squads: officer claims police teams behind wave of killings, 4 October
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0506.
149
[REDACTED]; ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, [REDACTED]; AI,
They Just Kill at 1017; HRW, License to Kill at 0728, 0730, 0792.

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on the wrists); or signs of torture or ill-treatment (such as ligature marks on the victim’s
neck).150 Many victims appear to have been shot at very close range,151 raising questions about
police claims that they were killed during “firefights”.

iii. Police planted evidence, tampered with crime scenes, and took other measures
to conceal conduct

60. Sources suggest that police planted evidence at crimes scenes, produced false or
misleading incident reports, and took other measures in an effort to conceal the manner in
which the killings occurred and to support claims of self-defence.152 An officer with the Anti-
Illegal Drugs Unit (“AIDU”) in Metro Manila involved in WoD operations told AI that these
practices were common among police officers.153

61. One police commander explained to Reuters: “We have to plant evidence for the
legality of the operation. We are ordered to do these operations, so we have to protect
ourselves.” The same police commander said that officers put a gun in the deceased suspect’s
hand and pull the trigger using the suspect’s finger so that forensic testing shows that the
suspect had fired a gun. He also contended that crime-scene investigators told officers to place
the guns at a slight distance from the suspects, rather than in their hands, to make the scenes
look more realistic.154 Based on an examination of a sample of police reports on 25 operations
in which 45 persons were killed in Metro Manila, the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (“OHCHR”) found that police repeatedly recovered guns – allegedly used by
victims – “bearing the same serial numbers from different victims in different locations”.

150
See [REDACTED]; HRW, License to Kill at 0711; Reuters, Burying the Truth: A family challenges the official
story of a killing in Duterte’s drug war, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0522; [REDACTED]; Rappler,
Impunity: The Fifth Man, 5 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2287. See also AI, They Just Kill at 1019-1020;
[REDACTED].
151
See, e.g., Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0003 at 0008; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0289-0290;
[REDACTED]; AI, They Just Kill at 1017 (regarding the case of Jovan Magtanong), 1020 (regarding the case of
“Rodel”); HRW, License to Kill at 0713 (regarding the case of Oliver Dela Cruz), 0725 (regarding the case of
Bonifacio Antonio); The New York Times, Death of Philippine Teenager Stokes Opposition to Duterte’s Drug
Crackdown, 23 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0002-0600 (regarding 0877(the case of Kian Delos Santos).
152
See para. 29, 42 above. See also Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in
Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0092; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0602, 0611-0614;
ABS-CBN News, War on Drugs: “They surrendered – and got killed”, PHL-OTP-0003-2270; HRW, Philippines:
Police Deceit in “Drug War” Killings, 2 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1056; HRW, World Report 2018:
Philippines – Events of 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1053; [REDACTED].
153
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0602, 0611-0614.
154
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0097-0098.

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OHCHR indicated that such “pattern suggests the planting of evidence by police officers and
casts doubt on the self-defence narrative, implying that the victims were likely unarmed at the
time of the killing.”155

62. Members of law enforcement also took other measures to conceal their conduct or to
avoid generating evidence that would contradict their accounts. In a number of incidents, police
disabled surveillance cameras in the immediate area.156 Multiple sources reported a consistent
pattern of police segregating the victim prior to carrying out the killing, either by moving the
victim to a secluded area or sending away all potential witnesses from the scene.157 A Reuters
investigation also revealed a pattern of police manipulating evidence by bringing the bodies of
victims to the hospital, despite the fact that they were not breathing, had no pulse, were cold
to the touch or displaying signs of rigor mortis, or had injuries from which it would be
impossible to survive, such as multiple gunshot wounds to the head and heart. 158 A police
commander in Manila said this was done “to avoid crime scene investigations and media
attention that might show they [police] were executing drug suspects.”159

63. Sources have also alleged that police crime-scene investigations following the killing
of drug suspects have been “perfunctory” and “opaque”, and highlighted difficulties that
families and CHR investigators have encountered in getting access to autopsy results or police
and forensic reports.160 Victims’ relatives and witnesses have reportedly been deterred from

155
A/HRC/44/22 at 2973, para. 24.
156
Reuters, Caught on Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19. Security Cameras tell
another, 27 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517; GMA News Online, Police “paralyzed” CCTV cameras in
Parojinog homes for security purposes, 30 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2310; Philstar, Bato on Parojinog raid:
Cutting CCTV cameras wrong, 31 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2311; [REDACTED]. See also Reuters, Special
Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
0092 at 0097.
157
[REDACTED]; HRW, License to Kill at 0713-0714, 0717, 0719; Reuters, Police rank up an almost perfectly
deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0003 at 0006; ABS-CBN News, War
on Drugs: The Unheard Stories: “They surrendered – and got killed”, 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-2270.
158
Reuters, Dead on arrival, PHL-OTP-0003-0523, and related interactive multimedia supplement, PHL-OTP-
0003-0546. See also Reuters, Caught on Camera: Police tell one story of what happened in Barangay 19. Security
Cameras tell another, 27 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0517; Reuters, Davao boys: How a secretive police
squad racked up kills in Duterte’s drug war, 19 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0309 at 0324; Physicians for
Human Rights, Letter to the Secretary of Health Republic of the Philippines, 4 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1057 at 1057. [REDACTED]).
159
Reuters, Dead on arrival, PHL-OTP-0003-0523.
160
Reuters, Police rake up an almost perfectly deadly record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0003 at 0004; AI, They Just Kill at 1019, 1036-1038; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0588, 0629-
0631, 0633; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines,
May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1229; [REDACTED]. See also generally A/HRC/44/22 at 2974, para. 29.

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challenging police accounts or filing complaints, due to an environment of intimidation and

fear of reprisals by police.161 One media source reported that local fishermen claimed the police
hired them to dispose of the bodies of drug suspects in Manila Bay. 162 Authorities have also
allegedly outsourced WoD killings to hired hitmen, and conducted operations in a way
designed to suggest they were perpetrated by “vigilantes”.163

iv. Conclusion

64. The information above indicates that, contrary to official claims, many WoD killings
by law enforcement were not justified. The use of force employed appears to have been
unnecessary and disproportionate under the circumstances, and the killings therefore arbitrary
and unlawful.164 The Prosecution however acknowledges that a limited number of killings
during official police operations may have been lawful acts of self-defence under article
31(1)(c) of the Statute. The role of self-defence or other justification in particular incidents will
be examined on a case-by-case basis in the context of any authorised investigation.

2. Killings committed outside of official law enforcement operations

65. In addition to the killings described above, there is also a reasonable basis to believe
that thousands of similar killings committed outside of official law enforcement operations
between 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019 were directly connected to the WoD campaign,
despite being attributed by the police to “unidentified” perpetrators. The perpetrators of such
killings appear to include law enforcement officers who sought to conceal their true identity,
private actors who coordinated with and were paid by the police, and in some cases other
private individuals or groups instigated to act by the government’s WoD campaign and
statements by Duterte calling for drug suspects to be killed.165 The term “vigilantes” (or “anti-

161
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; Reuters, Burying the Truth: A family challenges the official story of a killing in
Duterte’s drug war, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0522; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0588, 0632-
0633; Rappler, Where the drug war began, 24 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2049 at 2085; Reuters, Killing
Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0290; Reuters, Police rank up an almost perfectly deadly
record in Philippine drug war, 5 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0003 at 0006; A/HRC/44/22 at 2974, para. 29;
HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020,
PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1261; [REDACTED].
162
Al Jazeera, Philippine police “dumping bodies” of drug war victims, 28 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0539.
163
See para. 71 below.
164
See generally UN Commission on Human Rights, Summary or Arbitrary Executions – Report by the Special
Rapporteur, Mr. S. Amos Vako, appointed pursuant to resolution 1982/35 of 7 May 1982 of the Economic and
Social Council, E/CN.4/1983/16, 31 January 1983, PHL-OTP-0003-2730 at 2739, para. 24-27, 2746-2747, para.
60-61, 66-67.
165
See para. 67-71 below.

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drug vigilantes”) has commonly been used as an umbrella term – including by the authorities,
the media, and NGOs – to refer to private perpetrators of WoD-related killings.

66. Authorities have variously claimed that such killings occurred in the context of love
triangles or feuds or rivalries between drug gangs and criminal organisations, and were not
connected to the WoD.166 While this may be true with respect to some cases, a significant
number of these killings appear to be directly connected to the WoD, based on apparent links
between the perpetrators and law enforcement, the profile of the victims, the motives for the
killings, and the generally consistent types of modus operandi employed by the perpetrators.

Links to Philippine law enforcement

67. A number of perpetrators have come forward to say they were hired by police to carry
out WoD killings.167 For example, AI interviewed two private individuals who claimed to have
been ordered and paid by police to kill alleged drug offenders, and to plant evidence at the
crime scenes. Explaining their motivation, one of the paid killers said: “I’m helping the
government take out the trash of society.” A police officer in Metro Manila told AI that police
are sometimes involved in killings by hiring paid killers to carry them out.168

68. [REDACTED].169 In other instances, perpetrators have been identified as known police
assets.170

166
CNN, Dead or alive: Is the Philippines’ war on drugs out of control?, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0081 at
0086; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0287.
167
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0618-0619; BBC, Philippines drugs war: The woman who kills
dealers for a living, 26 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0504; Al Jazeera (Facebook page), These hired killers in
the Philippines say the police are using them to target drug criminals (video), 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0001-
2496; ABC News Philippines’ War on Drugs That Has Left Thousands Dead, 13 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0503; SBS Dateline, Getting Away With Murder, 25 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0001-2504 from
00:17:47:11; [REDACTED]; Mirror, Husband and wife death squad execute 800 people in brutal Philippines war
on drug dealers, 25 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0515; Rappler, “The Cops were showing off”: Murder in
Manila Part 2, 5 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1418. See also Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila
Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419; Rappler, “What did the CSG do wrong?”: Murder in Manila Part
4, 8 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1420; Rappler, “I finish the job”: Murder in Manila Part 5, 9 October 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-1421 (“I finish the job”); Rappler, “There are snakes everywhere”: Murder in Manila Part 6, 10
October 2018 (“There are snakes everywhere”); Rappler, “It’s war”: Murder in Manila Conclusion, 11 October
2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1422.
168
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0618-0619.
169
[REDACTED]).
170
[REDACTED].

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69. In some incidents, a connection between the perpetrators and the police is suggested by
the course of events.171 In some cases, for example, the perpetrators have apparently relied on
police to secure the perimeter in the lead up to the attacks.172 Witnesses of some incidents
stated that almost immediately after the killing and once the unknown assailants left, police
officers and/or crime scene investigators arrived at the scene.173 In a few cases, witnesses
described masked perpetrators speaking to police after the incident.174 Some self-proclaimed
killers claimed that after killing a target, they called the police, who then claimed responsibility
for the killings as a result of a gunfight during an official police operation.175

70. Further, some killings attributed to unknown assailants appear to have been committed
directly by members of law enforcement in plain clothes who took measures to make the
killings appear as having been perpetrated by private actors.176 For example, a police officer
from Metro Manila told AI that, in addition to hiring paid killers, the police sometimes
themselves carried out vigilante-style killings, explaining:

The police officers usually [act as unknown armed persons] when they feel the target
does not have the capacity to fight back, or if the family has the ability to file a case. If
the target is a woman […] we cannot conduct a police operation, because that would be
an obvious rub-out since a woman can’t fight back. So we would carry that out as
vigilantes. If it’s a bigger target [who owns a] gun, a known pusher, then we’d do it as
a [police] operation.177

71. The Guardian reportedly interviewed a senior PNP officer who explained the role of
police in killings that were attributed to unknown assailants.178 The officer claimed that he was

171
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0724-0725, 0729-0730, 0744-0745; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at
0627-0628; AI, They Just Kill at 1025.
172
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0709; ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines,
17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0810.
173
Rappler, Impunity: Welcome to the end of the war, 7 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2249; HRW, License to
Kill at 0709, 0713-0714, 0725, 0729, 0744-0745; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0711, 0713.
174
HRW, License to Kill at 0713, 0734-0735.
175
See, e.g., Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419
(referring to two such incidents).
176
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0587, 0614-0620, 0627-0628; AI, They Just Kill
at 1025; HRW, License to Kill at 0709; The New York Times, President Duterte’s List, 10 January 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-0398 (noting one such incident where the perpetrators turned out to be local police officers); Rappler,
Oriental Mindoro cops face murder raps over “riding-in-tandem” case, 13 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2250;
[REDACTED]; On the President’s Orders (documentary film directed by James Jones), 2019, PHL-OTP-0002-
0607 at 00:40:15:07-00:40:38:16.
177
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0618.
178
The Guardian, Philippine secret death squads: officer claims teams behind waves of killings, 4 October 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0506.

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part of a police special operations teams tasked to execute targets suspected drug users and
dealers.179 They would conduct killings at night, wearing hoods and dressed in black, and then
dispose of the bodies in the next town or under a bridge, with a cardboard sign reading “drug
lord” or “pusher”. The officer explained: “We put placards in order for the media, in order for
those investigating [the] bodies to redirect their investigation” and to lead them to think, “Why
should I investigate this guy, he is a drug pusher, he is rapist, never mind with that one, I will
just investigate the others. It’s a good thing for him that happened to him.”180

Victim profile

72. Consistently across the relevant killings, the targeted victims were civilians suspected
of being connected to illegal drug activities, including persons on drug watch lists, persons
who had been publicly identified as drug personalities, and those who had previously
surrendered to the authorities as part of Operation Tokhang. 181 In some cases, the reason for
the targeting was explicitly indicated on signs left on the bodies of victims.182

Motives

73. Even if some perpetrators acted independently of law enforcement, the motives often
appear to be directly related to the government’s WoD campaign. Philippine officials have at
times acknowledged that killings were committed by vigilantes “fed up with current justice
system”.183 Members of one vigilante group considered themselves to be “soldiers in Rodrigo

179
The Guardian, Philippine secret death squads: officer claims teams behind waves of killings, 4 October 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0506.
180
The Guardian, Philippine secret death squads: officer claims teams behind waves of killings, 4 October 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0506.
181
[REDACTED]; AI, They Just Kill at 1016, 1025; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0615-0617; HRW,
License to Kill at 0744-0745; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283; Inquirer, The
Kill List, 7 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1550; Rappler, Impunity: In the Name of the Father, 8 December 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-2091; The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; Rappler, Impunity: Welcome to the end of the war,
7 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2249; Rappler, Impunity: The Night Before Christmas, 27 December 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-2248; [REDACTED]; Reuters, “Killing Mosquitos”: In Duterte’s drug war, local power brokers
draw up the hit lists, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283; The Atlantic, The Uncounted Dead of Rodrigo
Duterte’s Philippine Drug War, 19 August 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0550 at 0551, 0552, 0561; HRW, “Our Happy
Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218
at 1256.
182
See, e.g., The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; [REDACTED]; DW, Investigating Duterte’s drug war in the
Philippines – facts and fiction, 9 May 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0212 at 0216; The New York Times, Philippine
Police Resume War on Drugs, Killing Dozens, 2 February 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0104 at 0104; The New York
Times, “They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals”, 7 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0457 at 0469.
183
See, e.g., CNN, Dead or alive: Is the Philippines’ war on drugs out of control?, 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0081 at 0086 (quoting Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella).

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Duterte’s war against drugs”, and explained: “All we wanted was to do something about the
drugs.”184

Modus operandi

74. Vigilante-style killings appear to most often fit one of three different types of scenarios.
In one reported type of scenario, done in public, the perpetrator(s) arrived on motorbike –
usually in pairs “riding in tandem” – or in a van, wearing hoods, caps, motorcycle helmets, or
masks to conceal their faces. The perpetrators shot the victim, often at close range, usually in
the head or chest (sometimes multiple times), and then swiftly fled the area.185 Sources have
highlighted that these killings, committed in public, were carried out in a manner suggesting
they were conducted by professionally trained individuals.186

75. In another type of incident, the perpetrators targeted victims in their homes.187 Some
victims were shot when they answered the door; in other cases, the perpetrator forcibly entered
the premises and killed the victim.188 Perpetrators sometimes instructed others to leave the
room or house, or took other measures to clear the area prior to carrying out the killing.189 Such
incidents appear to bear notable similarities – in terms of manner and course of events – to
raids carried out by the police during official anti-drug operations.190

184
Rappler, “Some people need killing”: Murder in Manila Part 1 – How a Manila gang finds the license to kill,
4 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1411; Rappler, “It’s war”: Murder in Manila Conclusion, 11 October 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-1422.
185
See AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0615-0620; AI, They Just Kill at 1025; HRW, License to Kill at 0708,
0710; The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; Rappler, I finish the job; Rappler, Impunity: The Night Before
Christmas, 27 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2248; [REDACTED]; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”:
Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1239, 1256,
1258.
186
Reuters, Between Duterte and a death squad, a Philippine mayor fights drug-war violence, 17 March 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0505; Rappler, Impunity: A Halloween Massacre, 2 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2301; The
Guardian, Philippine secret death squads: officer claims teams behind waves of killings, 4 October 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0506. [REDACTED].
187
See, e.g., AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0615; AI, They Just Kill at 1025; HRW, License to Kill at 0744-
0745; UCANews, Philippines: Confession of a vigilante killer, 14 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0002-0605; The
Drug Archive, Building a dataset.
188
See, e.g., The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; Rappler, Impunity: A Halloween Massacre, 2 November 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-2301.
189
See, e.g., Rappler, Impunity: Welcome to the end of the war, 7 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2249; Rappler,
Impunity: A Halloween Massacre, 2 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2301; HRW, License to Kill at 0713, 0744-
0745; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0615.
190
See para. 24-44 above.

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76. In other cases, the precise circumstances in which the victim was killed are unknown,
and the body was discovered after having been disposed of in public locations, such as a street
or alley (situations sometimes referred to as “body dumps”).191 The victims’ bodies were
frequently found with their heads wrapped in packing tape, their hands or feet bound together,
and a handwritten cardboard sign identifying the victim as drug user or dealer and warning
others not to follow their examples.192 In some “body dump” cases, the victims were last seen
alive being arrested or taken away by police, yet the police reports made no reference to any
arrest nor provided any plausible explanation.193

C. Places, time period, and persons or groups involved

77. An analysis of available information indicates that the examples of extrajudicial killings
and related violence discussed above do not represent anomalies or exceptions. Rather, they
appear to be a defining characteristic of the national WoD campaign, which has affected nearly
every corner of the Philippines, spanned a number of years, and appears to implicate the highest
levels of Philippine law enforcement and government.

1. Places of alleged crimes

78. The alleged crimes identified above were committed throughout the territory of the
Philippines, in all 17 regions of the country.194 At the regional level, the highest number of
killings were recorded in the National Capital Region (also commonly referred to as Metro

191
See [REDACTED]; The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; Rappler, Impunity: Murder as Meme, 1 December
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2302; ABS-CBN News, Duterte urged: “Stop cardboard justice”, 25 July 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-2305. See also generally The Guardian, Philippine secret death squads: officer claims teams behind waves
of killings, 4 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0506.
192
See [REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0615-0616; HRW, License to Kill at 0709, 0724-
0725; The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When, How?, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996;
The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; Al Jazeera, Philippines: Inside Duterte’s killer drug war, 8 September 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0514; Rappler, Impunity: In the Name of the Father, 8 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2091 at
2102-2102; DW, Investigating Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines – facts and fiction, 9 May 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-0212 at 0216; The New York Times, President Duterte’s List, 10 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0398 at
0406; Rappler, Impunity: The Church of Resistance, 25 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2303; Rappler,
Impunity: Murder as Meme, 1 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2302; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”:
Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1255.
193
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0722-0723, 0729-0730.
194
See The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When, How?, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996
at 2997 (map “Where were they killed?”); ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17
October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0814 (map “Drug Violence Events in the Philippines (2016 – September
2018)”); ACLED, Press Release: Data Confirm Wave of Targeted Attacks in the Philippines, 3 July 2019, PHL-
OTP-0003-1283 (map “Targeted killings in the Philippines”). [REDACTED].

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Manila), Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Ilocos regions.195 The killings
appear to have occurred on a particularly large scale in highly urbanised areas.196

2. Time period of alleged crimes

79. The alleged crimes on which the Prosecution has focused its analysis began around 1
July 2016, immediately after President Duterte took power and publicly stated that he would
kill suspected drug dealers and addicts, when the PNP issued CMC No. 16-2016, launching
Project “Double Barrel” and the WoD campaign.197 The alleged crimes continued through (and
beyond) 16 March 2019.198

80. These alleged crimes fall within the Court’s jurisdiction ratione temporis, because the
Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute on 30 August 2011, and
the Statute entered into force for the Philippines on 1 November 2011, in accordance with
article 126(1) of the Statute. On 17 March 2018, the Government of the Philippines deposited
a written notification of withdrawal from the Statute with the UN Secretary-General,199 and in

195
The identification of these locations derives from an analysis of the datasets: [REDACTED]; Armed Conflict
Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), Philippines Dataset covering the period 01-07-2016 to 16-03-2019
(ORIGINAL), PHL-OTP-0003-3146 (“ACLED Dataset”). The references to the ACLED Dataset should be read
together with the relevant Coding Schemes as made available by ACLED to guide the reading of their datasets in
general and specific instructions regarding their Philippines Drug War coding methodology. ACLED, Codebook,
undated (downloaded 2019), PHL-OTP-0001-4072; ACLED, FAQs: ACLED Sourcing Methodology, undated
(downloaded 2019), PHL-OTP-0001-4108; ACLED, Methodology and Coding Decisions around the Philippines
Drug War, undated (downloaded 2019), PHL-OTP-0001-4069. See also [REDACTED]; Rappler, Central Luzon:
New killing fields in Duterte’s drug war, 24 February 2019, PHL-OTP-0002-0584; ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-
Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0814.
196
See ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-
0810 at 0814. The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on
Drugs” on Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1228.
197
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016, Section 1(a); The Guardian, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to
kill drug addicts, 1 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0101 at 0102; [REDACTED]. See also PCOO, President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte’s Speech during his Inauguration as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines, 30 June
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3291 at 3292.
198
See, e.g., [REDACTED]; ACLED Dataset (this version of the ACLED Dataset contains information on
incidents that occurred between 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019. However, the ACLED Dataset is continuously
populated and thus a more recent version of the dataset would show incidents that occurred also after 16 March
2019 and up to the present time. For more information, see the ACLED website:
https://acleddata.com/#/dashboard); The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When, How?,
undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996 at 2999 (graph “When were they killed?”); ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related
Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0811 (graph “Vigilante vs. State Anti-
Drug Violence over Time (2016-September 2018)”). Since 16 March 2019, sources have consistently reported
that the WoD has continued unabated. See HRW, World Report 2021: Philippines – Events of 2020, PHL-OTP-
0002-0595; HRW, Killings in Philippines Up 50 Percent During Pandemic, 8 September 2020, PHL-OTP-0002-
0596; [REDACTED].
199
UN, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – Rome, 17 July 1998 – Philippines: Withdrawal, 17
March 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2950.

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accordance with article 127, the withdrawal took effect on 17 March 2019. While the relevant
crimes appear to have continued after this date,200 the alleged crimes identified in this Request
are limited to those during the period when the Philippines was a State Party to the Statute.201

81. In the Burundi situation, Pre-Trial Chamber III held that a State Party’s withdrawal
from the Rome Statute does not affect the Court’s exercise of jurisdiction over crimes
committed prior to the effective date of the withdrawal. 202 This conclusion was recently
confirmed by Pre-Trial Chamber II in the Abd-Al-Rahman case.203 The Court’s exercise of
such jurisdiction, moreover, is not subject to any time limit, particularly since the preliminary
examination here commenced prior to the Philippines’ withdrawal.204

3. Persons or groups involved

82. The available information indicates that WoD crimes were committed by both state
actors – particularly members of law enforcement – and other perpetrators (“vigilantes”)
alleged to have acted in coordination with state actors.

State actors

83. The available information indicates that the majority of crimes directly attributable to
state actors were committed by members of the PNP, in some cases jointly with members of
other law enforcement agencies and the AFP, and with the participation of various other state
actors, including authorities from the national and local levels of government.

84. Under CMC No. 16-2016 and subsequent directives, the PNP, from the Police Director
General down to the station level as well as specific anti-drug units and other PNP offices, was
central to the planning, coordination, and implementation of WoD operations.205 For much of
the period covered in this Request, individuals at the highest levels of command of the PNP
were responsible for ordering, directing, and organising the overall conduct of WoD operations

200
See, e.g., HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on Children in the Philippines,
May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1228; ACLED, Press Release: Data Confirm Wave of Targeted Attacks in
the Philippines, 3 July 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1283.
201
This, however, is without prejudice to the consideration of any relevant crimes of a continuous nature, even if
they have continued after 16 March 2019. See Burundi Article 15 Decision, para. 192.
202
Burundi Article 15 Decision, para. 24.
203
Prosecutor v. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, ICC-02/05-01/20-391, para. 33.
204
See Rome Statute, article 127(2); Burundi Article 15 Decision, para. 23-26.
205
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2495-2498, 2504-2506.

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in which a large part of the alleged crimes were committed. This includes the two PNP
Directors General (or “PNP Chiefs”) in charge of police operations during the relevant period,
namely Ronald Dela Rosa206 and his successor Oscar David Albayalde,207 as well as, below
them, the directors of the AIDG208 and later the DEG,209 as well as the PNP’s regional,
provincial, and city-level directors in charge of coordinating operations on the ground.210
Below the national level, the power to implement relevant WoD operations was delegated to
“all police offices/units/stations and designated anti-drug units”.211 Accordingly, PNP
commanders in charge of offices at progressively lower administrative levels (regional,
district/provincial, city, and station-level) and commanders in charge of specialised anti-drug
units attached to each level, were involved in and responsible for the conduct of anti-drug
operations in areas under their jurisdiction and command, including those during which killings
and related violence occurred, and in those areas where the highest concentrations of killings
reportedly occurred.212

85. The involvement of members of the PNP in the commission of the alleged crimes is
also evidenced by data showing that the highest number of killings, whether by state actors or
non-state actors, was recorded during the phases of the WoD when the PNP was involved in
anti-drug operations, whether as the lead agency or under the PDEA (namely Phases 1, 2, 4
and 6).213 By contrast, during the two phases when the PNP’s role in the WoD was temporarily
suspended (namely Phases 3 and 5),214 the number of killings abruptly and significantly

206
Rappler, Duterte’s “Bato”: Who is Ronald dela Rosa?, 19 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1438.
207
ABS-CBN News, Duterte formally appoints Albayalde new PNP chief, 13 April 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1982
at 1983, 1985.
208
See PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2501-2504; PNP Facebook Page, PNP activates Drug Enforcement Group –
Double Barrel Reloaded, Tokhang Revisited, 6 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2561.
209
See PNP Facebook Page, PNP activates Drug Enforcement Group – Double Barrel Reloaded, Tokhang
Revisited, 6 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2561; PNP DEG, Functions, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2603; Rappler,
What’s the new PNP Drug Enforcement Group like?, 10 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1873.
210
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492.
211
Ibid.
212
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016; para. 78 above.
213
[REDACTED]. See also ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0815. See generally para. 15 above; PNP, PNP Operational Accomplishments – 1st
Semester 2017, 29 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2523 at 2523; PNP, PNP activates Drug Enforcement Group;
Double Barrel Reloaded, Tokhang Revisited, 7 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2551; House of Representatives,
Resolution No.899, 16 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3501; The Manila Times, Resume drug war, 27 February
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1552 at 1552-1553, 1557.
214
See para. 15 above. See also PDEA, PDEA takes the lead in the war against drugs, 12 October 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-2556 at 2557; PDEA, First 100 days of PDEA DG Aquino, 27 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2569
at 2572-2575.

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reduced, though it did not cease.215

86. Other agencies besides the PNP also played an active role in anti-drug operations
resulting in the commission of crimes. As mentioned, the PDEA, as the delegated national drug
enforcement agency,216 played different coordination roles in the WoD,217 and PDEA members
also participated in anti-drug operations.218 The AFP participated in the WoD since at least
February 2017219 and was primarily tasked to support the PDEA in the conduct of anti-drug
operations, in particular against high-value targets,220 though it also aided in the verification of
so-called “narco-lists”.221 Various officials falling under the Department of Interior and Local
Government (“DILG”), the department with formal oversight of the PNP and of local
government entities,222 also contributed to relevant operations. For example, barangay and
other local officials played an active role in compiling and validating drug watch lists used by
police, and sometimes participated in anti-drug operations.223

215
[REDACTED]. See also ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence in the Philippines, 17 October 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0815.
216
PDEA website, Mandate and Functions, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2608 at 2611.
217
See, e.g., PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016, at 2493. See also Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Revised Anti-
illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS), 9 November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-3418 at 3444; Manila Bulletin News, More
to be added to narco-list, PDEA, 16 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1927 at 1927-1928; PDEA, Press Release:
PDEA says only 289 barangay official in PRRD’s narco-list, 14 March 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2659; Inquirer,
PDEA chief: Narco list needs “revalidation”, 5 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-2238.
218
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill, at 0720; SunStar, Kin of slain drug suspect question “dubious” operation, 12
August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2239; Inquirer, Ex-Sorsogon town administrator killed in anti-drug operation, 11
March 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2240; Phillippine News Agency, Drug suspect killed in Santa Rosa City, 25 May
2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2241; Sunstar, Special Report: Who is to blame for the drug problem?, 28 April 2018,
PHL-OTP-0003-2242; Journal Online, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents gun down armed suspect,
nab 9, 9 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-2244.
219
Al Jazeera, Philippines army may now join Duterte’s “war on drugs”, 1 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0264
at 0264-0266. See also South China Morning Post, Duterte to allow military role in Philippine drug war, calls it
national security threat, 2 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0258 at 0259-0260. See generally The President of the
Philippines, Memorandum Order No. 17, 10 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3319; PCOO, Duterte orders PDEA
to lead campaign against illegal drugs, 11 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3720 at 3720-3721.
220
ABC News, Philippine army to form task force for war on drugs, military chief says, 19 February 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-0272; HRW, Abusive Philippine “Drug War” Gets Military Reinforcements, 1 February 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-0880 at 0880; The Diplomat, How Will the Philippines’ Military Join Duterte’s Drug War?, 23
February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0267; Manila Bulletin, PDEA inks MOA with AFP; PNP’s “Tokhang” on
standby, 28 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1988 at 1988-1989. See also The President of the Philippines,
Executive Order No. 15, 6 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3339, at 3340, sec.1, 3341, sec. 3.
221
Narco-lists are lists of names of individuals, particularly public figures, allegedly involved in illegal drug
activities (such as “narco-politicians” and “narco-officials”) compiled by authorities. See Manila Bulletin News,
More to be added to narco-list, PDEA, 16 March 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-1927 at 1927-1928; Rappler, Big funds,
little transparency: How Dutert’s drug list works, 16 February 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-2329.
222
DILG, Powers & Functions, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-3829; Congress of the Philippines, Republic Act No.
6975, 13 December 1990, PHL-OTP-0003-3321 at 3321, sec. 2.
223
See, e.g., Reuters, “Killing Mosquitos”: In Duterte’s drug war, local power brokers draw up the hit lists, 7
October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0284-0286, 0291; Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo School of
Government, The Role of Mayors and Barangay Captains in the Philippines’ Anti-Drugs Campaign (ASOG

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Other actors

87. As noted above, many WoD-related killings were also committed outside of official
operations. Authorities have frequently attributed such killings to “unidentified” perpetrators
or assailants, known in popular jargon as “vigilantes”, “death squads”, “unknown gunmen” or
unidentified individuals “riding in tandem”.224 These perpetrators generally appear to fall
within one of three categories: (1) private citizens prompted by Duterte’s calls for the public
to help deal with the drug crisis by killing drug personalities,225 or motivated by a desire to
assist the government’s WoD campaign, but acting independently of the Government,226 either
alone, in pairs, or as part of more organised groups;227 (2) individuals or groups acting at the
direction of, or in coordination with, members of the police, although not officially employed
by them;228 and members of of law enforcement who concealed their identity and carried out

Working Paper Series 18-002), June 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-3008 at 3012-3014, 3029-3033; The Philippine
Human Rights Information Center, The War on the Poor: Extrajudicial Killings and their Effects on Urban Poor
Families and Communities, 22 September 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2465 at 2472; HRW, License to Kill at 0735,
0737-0738, 0740; Reuters, How a secretive police squad racked up kills in Duterte’s drug war, 19 December 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0309 at 0325-0326; Manila Bulletin, PNP Chief: Municipal chief, barangay captain to lead anti-
illegal drugs ops, 4 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1936 at 1936-1936. See also PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492;
DDB, Board Regulation No. 3 Series of 2017, Subject: Strengthening the implementation of barangay drug
clearing program, 14 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0004-3480 at 3481, sec. 3, para. 8-10; PDEA, PDEA sets out
guidelines in strengthening the implementation of barangay drug clearing program, 18 February 2017, PHL-OTP-
0004-3489 at 3490; DILG Philippines Facebook post, BADAC – Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council, 19 October
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3825.
224
See, e.g., HRW, License to Kill at 0676, 0735; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0642; Rappler, I finish the
job: Murder in Manila Part 5 – 9 October 2018, I finish the job.
225
See, e.g., CNN, Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte: Public “can kill” criminals, 6 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0248
at 0248; HRW, The Philippines’ Duterte Incites Vigilante Violence, 19 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0657 at 0657-
0658; Business Insider, The Philippines’ president has declared a war on drugs, and it’s turned normal people into
hired killers, 5 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0507; The Guardian, Kill drug dealers and I’ll give you a medal,
says Philippines president, 5 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0172 at 0172.
226
[REDACTED]; ABC News, Inside the Controversial President of the Philippines’ War on Drugs That Has Left
Thousands Dead, 13 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0503; Rappler, “It’s war”: Murder in Manila Conclusion,
11 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1422 (purported member of a vigilante group reportedly responsible for killings
explained: “All we wanted was to do something about the drugs.”). See also Rappler, “Some people need killing”:
Murder in Manila Part 1 – How a Manila gang finds the license to kill, 4 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1411 at
1411.
227
Reuters, Between Duterte and a death squad, a Philippine mayor fights drug-war violence, 17 March 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0505; Inquirer, “Bonnet gang” kills 3 on drug watch list, 12 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
2245; Philstar, ‘Bonnet Gang’ member killed in QC, 15 June 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2247; Rappler, “Some people
need killing”: Murder in Manila Part 1 – How a Manila gang finds the license to kill, 4 October 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-1411 at 1411; Rappler, “The Cops were showing off”: Murder in Manila Part 2, 5 October 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-1418; Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419;
Rappler, I finish the job; Rappler, There are snakes everywhere. [REDACTED].
228
[REDACTED]; HRW, World Report 2019: Philippines – Events of 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0803 at 0804; AI,
If you are poor, you are killed at 0618-0620; BBC, Philippines drugs war: The woman who kills dealers for a
living, 26 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0504; Al Jazeera (Facebook page), These hired killers in the Philippines
say the police are using them to target drug criminals (video), 4 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0001-2496; SBS

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killings outside of official anti-drug operations (typically taking measures to make the crimes
look as if they had been committed by “vigilantes”) but with the knowledge and implied or
express approval of their superiors.229 Available information suggests there may be overlap
between these categories.230 For example, one vigilante group reportedly killed some drug
personalities based on their own initiative and selection, while at times instead targeting other
individuals on instructions from local police.231

D. Contextual elements of Murder as a Crime Against Humanity

88. There is a reasonable basis to believe that the alleged conduct was committed as part of
a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population pursuant to or in
furtherance of a State policy.232

1. Course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in article 7(1)

89. The available information provides a reasonable basis to believe that, since at least 1
July 2016, members of Philippine law enforcement and others carried out multiple acts under
article 7(1) that collectively amount to an “attack” against the civilian population within the
meaning of article 7(2)(a). The killings described in this Request are not the mere aggregate of
a few isolated and random incidents,233 but rather were committed in the context of, or in
connection with, the nationwide WoD campaign launched by Philippine authorities.

Dateline, Getting Away With Murder? (video), 25 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0001-2504 at 17:24-20:08; Rappler,
“The Cops were showing off”: Murder in Manila Part 2, 5 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1418; Rappler, “Get it
from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419; [REDACTED].
229
[REDACTED]; AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0587, 0614-0620; HRW, License to Kill at 0709-0710,
0735; The New York Times Magazine, President Duterte’s List, 10 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0398 at 0401-
0402; Rappler, Oriental Mindoro cops face murder raps over “riding-in-tandem” case, 13 October 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-2250; [REDACTED]; The Guardian, Philippines secret death squads: officer claims police teams
behind waves of killings, 4 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0506; Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill
rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0094. See also para.
70-71 above.
230
[REDACTED]; Rappler, “The Cops were showing off”: Murder in Manila Part 2, 5 October 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-1418; Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419;
Rappler, I finish the job; Rappler, There are snakes everywhere.
231
Rappler, “The Cops were showing off”: Murder in Manila Part 2, 5 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1418;
Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3, 6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419; Rappler, “What
did the CSG do wrong?”: Murder in Manila Part 4, 8 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1420; Rappler, I finish the
job; Rappler, There are snakes everywhere.
232
See Côte d’Ivoire Article 15 Decision, para. 29; Kenya Article 15 Decision, para. 79.
233
Gbagbo CD, para. 209; Bemba TJ, para. 149.

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90. The alleged acts share many common features in terms of i) their nature and
characteristics (shooting from firearms, often multiple times and typically at the head or chest,
often at close range, etc.); ii) locations (inside or nearby victims’ homes, or in areas where the
victims worked or frequented); iii) targets (individuals suspected of involvement in illegal drug
activities, including those identified on drug watch lists, especially users and small-time
dealers); and iv) the apparent aims underlying the acts (to eliminate and deter drug use and
dealing through the demonstration of harsh consequences). Regarding the conduct of state
actors, in particular, the perpetrators in most cases were members of the PNP, and the relevant
acts consistently occurred during acknowledged police anti-drug operations, or while the
victims were in police custody or detention for involvement in drug activities.234

91. Although some killings were attributed by the authorities to unidentified assailants, the
description and modus operandi of such perpetrators was, in general, notably consistent across
relevant incidents, suggesting some level of coordination among the perpetrators.235 Further,
as discussed above, the available information indicates strong links to police and the WoD.236

2. Directed against a civilian population

92. On the basis of the available information, the targeted civilian population was primarily
Filipino civilians suspected by authorities to be involved in drug-related activities, such as the
production, use, or sale of illegal drugs. Many victims had been included on drug watch lists,237
and some had previously surrendered to the police in connection with Operation Tokhang.238

3. Pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organisational policy

234
See para. 21-64, 83-86 above. See also The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; [REDACTED].
235
See para. 74-76 above.
236
See para. 67-69 above.
237
See AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0588, 0606, 0616; ACLED, Duterte’s War: Drug-Related Violence
in the Philippines, 17 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0810 at 0811; The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who,
What, Where, When, How?, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996 at 2996; The Drug Archive, Building a dataset;
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, staged crime scenes in Duterte's drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0097-0098; Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0284,
0287-0289, 0291. See also Rappler, Impunity: The red mark, 30 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2263; Rappler,
Impunity: This is where they do not die, 25 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2090; Rappler, The Drug War:
Monday, 21 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2264; HRW, License to Kill at 0718, 0727, 0735, 0737, 0739-0740,
0744-0745; [REDACTED].
238
See, e.g., Reuters, Killing Mosquitos, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0283 at 0284-0285, 0288-0290; AI, If
you are poor, you are killed at 0601, 0603; HRW, License to Kill at 0718, 0731-0732, 0736-0738, 0740-0741,
0745; [REDACTED].

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93. The requirement of a “State or organisational policy” ensures that an attack against the
civilian population has a “collective” dimension.239 A policy may consist of a pre-established
design or plan, but may also crystallise and develop only as actions are undertaken by the
perpetrators.240 It need not be bureaucratic, formalised, or precise, and may be implicit.241 In
general, it may be inferred from the manner in which relevant acts occur.242

94. The information available to the Prosecution provides a reasonable basis to believe that
the killings described above were carried out pursuant to a State policy to kill suspected drug
users and sellers and to instigate members of the public to carry out such killings (“WoD
policy”). While WoD operations involved various legitimate activities (such as arrests), they
have also reportedly encompassed the intentional extrajudicial killings of thousands of people.

Killings were allegedly committed by state forces in connection with a formal

anti-drug campaign

95. On 1 July 2016, Ronald Dela Rosa issued CMC No. 16-2016, launching the WoD
campaign.243 According to CMC No. 16-2016, the PNP “intend[ed]” to “address illegal drug
problems in the barangays” and “pursue the neutralization of illegal drug personalities as well
as the backbone of illegal drugs network operating in the country”.244

96. CMC No. 16-2016 contains various derivations of the words “neutralise” and “negate”,
including instructions to law enforcement actors to neutralise drug groups, personalities, and
PNP personnel who are involved in drug activities.245 The ordinary meaning of “neutralise” is
to render harmless, or to put out of action, but its common euphemistic meaning is “to kill”.246
Similarly, the ordinary meaning of “negate” is to render ineffective or invalid; to nullify, cancel
out; or to destroy.247 The available information indicates that these words were intended to
denote, and have been interpreted by relevant domestic actors to include, killing.

239
Al Hassan CD, para. 181.
240
Ntaganda TJ, para. 674.
241
See, e.g., Bemba CD, para. 81; Katanga CD, para. 396; Gbagbo CD, para. 215; Katanga TJ, para. 1108, 1110.
242
Katanga TJ, para. 1109; Bemba TJ, para. 160 (fn. 361).
243
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2507 (Dela Rosa’s signature).
244
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2492, sec. 5. See also id. at 2490-2491.
245
PNP, CMC NO. 16 – 2016 at 2491-2492, 2494, 2501, 2504, 2505, 2508. See ABS-CBN News, Carpio:
“Neutralize” does not only mean to kill, 21 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1995 at 1995-1996; Rappler, Kill
or arrest? SC’s Carpio pins down what PNP means by “neutralize”, 21 November 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2005 at
2007-2008.
246
Oxford English Dictionary, Neutralize, PHL-OTP-0003-3001 at 3001-3002, accessed 1 May 2019.
247
Oxford English Dictionary, Negate, PHL-OTP-0003-3006 at 3006, accessed 1 May 2019.

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97. The term “neutralise” does not appear to be defined in any official PNP record.248 The
PNP, however, has used the word in official communications to include killings. For example,
in updating the public on Project Double Barrel in 2016, a PNP spokesman reportedly stated
that 1,661 drug suspects had been “neutralized” and 29,910 arrested in 31,215 operations.249
After 26 drug suspects were killed in OTBT operations in Manila, a Senior Police
Superintendent stated that similar operations would continue and residents should stop their
illegal activities or be caught or neutralised.250 Police reports have also at times referred to the
killing of individuals by law enforcement during anti-drug operations as “neutralization”.251

98. PNP representatives have publicly and privately stated that they were following
government policy in killing suspected drug personalities. After police in Bulacan province
killed nine people during anti-drug operations, a police spokeswoman reportedly told media,
“We are just following the marching orders of our new chief of the Philippine National
Police”.252 [REDACTED].253 Public statements by other Philippine officials254 leave little
doubt that “neutralisation” not only encompassed killing, but that killing was encouraged.255

99. Following the launch of the WoD campaign with CMC No. 16-2016, there was a
marked increase in killings of alleged drug personalities.256 There also appears to be a
correlation between the points when the WoD campaign was suspended and recommenced and
the peaks of killings throughout the period examined.257

100. Finally, there is a clear pattern of violence directed at the targeted population, with a
general modus operandi and an apparent pattern of seeking to conceal the unlawful nature of

248
Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), Petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 11 October 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-2348 at 2350.
249
FLAG, Petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 11 October 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2348 at 2424,
Annex C.1 (reproducing GMA News Online, “Neutralized is better”: PNP ditches “killed” term in Oplan Double
Barrel report, 18 October 2016); Philstar, PNP: DUI, not EJK; neutralized, not killed – 19 October 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-2019 at 2020.
250
The New York Times, Philippine Drug War Logs Deadliest Week Yet: 58 Killed in 3 Days, 17 August 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0168 at 0170.
251
A/HRC/44/22 at 2972-2973, paras. 23-24.
252
Malay Mail Online, Philippine police kill 10 in Duterte’s war on crime, 2 July 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0047 at
0048.
253
[REDACTED].
254
See para. 101-107 below.
255
See generally A/HRC/44/22 at 2971-2972, para. 18.
256
See para. 15, 84-85 above.
257
[REDACTED]; ACLED Dataset. See also para. 85 above.

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the killing (for example, by planting evidence and falsifying reports).258 These commonalities
exclude the probability that violence inflicted on suspected drug users and dealers occurred
randomly or was perpetrated by isolated or uncoordinated individuals acting on their own.

Public statements by President Duterte and other high-level officials

101. The plethora of public statements made by Duterte and other Philippine government
officials encouraging, supporting and, in certain instances, urging the public to kill suspected
drug users and dealers also indicate a State policy to attack civilians.

102. Duterte already used a distinctive rhetoric as Mayor of Davao City (1988-1998, 2001-
2010, and 2013-2016), declaring criminals to be “legitimate target(s) of assassination”259 and
announcing that he maintained order in Davao by killing criminals: “Kill ‘em all”.260 He ran
his presidential campaign on an anti-drugs and crime platform, drawing on his reputation for
having been “tough” on drugs and crime as Mayor of Davao and telling reporters he had killed
“around 1,700” people.261 Duterte warned that, should he become President, the number of
criminal suspects killed “will become 100,000”.262

103. Duterte promised to empower security forces to “shoot to kill” those who resisted
arrest.263 During a presidential debate in February 2016, Duterte reportedly said, “If I become
president, it would be bloody because we’ll order the killing of all criminals”.264 At a campaign
rally in March 2016, he said: “Kill them all” […] “When I become president, I’ll order the
police and the military to find these people and kill them”.265 Duterte also reportedly outlined

258
See para. 21-76 above.
259
Reuters, Philippine death squads very much in business as Duterte set for presidency, 25 May 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0014 at 0016.
260
Politiko Politics, Duterte shares grisly secret to keeping Davao City as PH’s safest, updated 5 October 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-1287 at 1287.
261
Rappler, Duterte: I killed 700? No, make that 1,700, 8 December 2015, PHL-OTP-0003-1297 at 1299. See also
Metro, President-elect of Philippines pledges to kill 100,000 criminals in six months, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0041 at 0041-0043; [REDACTED].
262
Inquirer, Duterte confirms “ties” with Davao Death Squad, 25 May 2015, PHL-OTP-0003-1290 at 1291;
[REDACTED]. See also Metro, President-elect of Philippines pledges to kill 100,000 criminals in six months, 18
May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0041 at 0041.
263
CNN, Obama calls Duterte, highlights shared human rights values, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0037 at
0039.
264
Philstar, Duterte admits to “bloody” presidency if he wins, 21 February 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1303.
265
Inquirer, Kill the criminals! Duterte’s vote-winning vow, 16 March 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1305 at 1306.

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his plan to news media: “I say let’s kill five criminals every week, so they will be
eliminated.”266

104. As President-elect (from 9 May to 30 June 2016), Duterte continued to threaten to “kill”
those involved in the illegal drug trade:267 He vowed to wipe out crime in six months by killing
criminals and drug dealers268 and promised to allow police to shoot people involved in
organised crime.269 In a nationally televised speech on 4 June 2016, Duterte reportedly urged
citizens with guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest or fight back: “Please feel
free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun – you have my support”. Duterte
warned, “If you’re still into drugs, I will kill you, don’t take this as a joke. I'm not trying to
make you laugh, son of a bitch, I will really kill you”.270

105. Other individuals who would go on to become high-level officials in the Duterte regime
made similar comments prior to Duterte taking office, suggesting planning of the WoD
policy.271 Before being announced as the Duterte administration’s first National Police Chief,
Dela Rosa explained the “focus” of the forthcoming WoD policy “will be killing those involved
in drugs. There will be deaths in illegal drug trade. So the drug lords out there, watch out,
because I am going after you”.272 After he was announced as the incoming PNP Chief, Dela
Rosa threatened that police involved in the distribution of illegal drugs “will be killed”.273

106. Immediately after taking office, Duterte made public statements outlining his policy to
suppress or stop the sale and use of drugs in the Philippines, including through the elimination
of those suspected of being involved in the illegal drug trade. In a speech on the very first day

266
Reuters, Factbook: Rodrigo Duterte on crime and punishment, 13 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0124 at 0125.
267
Inquirer, Duterte to order ‘shoot-to-kill’ for criminals, reinstate death penalty,16 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0002-
0534 at 0536.
268
Reuters, Philippine death squads very much in business as Duterte set for presidency, 25 May 2016, PHL-
OTP-0003-0014 at 0016.
269
51VOA, Philippines' Duterte Promises to Cut Crime, Corruption, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0655; Center
for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Death Penalty: Legal, Rights Issues Ignored, 4 June 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-2344 at 2344.
270
The Sydney Morning Herald, Philippine incoming president Rodrigo Duterte urges public to kill drug dealers,
6 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0022 at 0023, 0025. See also The Manila Times, “Police drug dealers should be
killed”, 5 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1358 at 1358-1359; [REDACTED].
271
See Inquirer, Prospective PNP chief does a Duterte, says drug lords will be killed, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-1350 at 1351.
272
Inquirer, Prospective PNP chief does a Duterte, says drug lords will be killed, 18 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-
1350 at 1351.
273
The Philippine Star, “Bato” to cops: I will kill you, too, if …, 20 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1377 at 1377.

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of his presidency, Duterte urged the crowd: “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill
them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful”.274 On 29 September 2016,
Duterte told reporters that “[t]here are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I’d be happy
to slaughter them”. Duterte reportedly said, “If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would
have...” and pointed to himself.275 In 2017, speaking about drugs and “narcopoliticians”,
Duterte said, “Do not f*** with me. I will kill you.”276

107. As President, Duterte has made speeches to police277 and military278 personnel
encouraging them to kill suspected criminals, clarifying that, “When I said that you go and
destroy the drug industry, destroying means destroying including human life”. 279 Duterte also
announced that he had issued “shoot-to-kill” orders for a list of publicly identified politicians
alleged to be involved in illegal drug activities.280 Other senior members of the Duterte
administration have employed similar rhetoric in apparent attempts to incite violence against
those involved with drugs, including referring to drug users and dealers as animals, fish food,
or slaves in apparent attempts to dehumanise them.281 For example, former Justice Secretary
Vitaliano Aguirre II told reporters that, “[t]he criminals, the drug lords, drug pushers, they are

274
The Guardian, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts, 1 July 2016, PHL-OTP-
0003-0101 at 0102. See also HRW, The Philippines’ Duterte Incites Vigilante Violence: President Encourages
the Jobless to Kill Drug Addicts, 19 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0657 at 0658.
275
BBC, Jewish leaders react to Rodrigo Duterte Holocaust remarks, 20 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0152
at 0153-0154; Reuters, Philippines’ Duterte likens himself to Hitler, wants to kill millions of drug users, 30
September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0127 at 0128.
276
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the 19th Founding Anniversary of the Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption, 16 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3213 at 3215 (original version), PHL-OTP-
0003-3849 at 3852 (English translation).
277
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the Turnover Ceremony of 26 units Mitsubishi Patrol
Vehicle and Inauguration of New Regional Crime Laboratory Office 11 Building, 15 January 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-3800 at 3803 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3922 at 3926 (English translation).
278
Rappler, Duterte to troops: massacre criminals, I’ll promote you, 21 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1345 at
1348. For a different translation of the same quote, see [REDACTED].
279
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the Turnover Ceremony of 26 units Mitsubishi Patrol
Vehicle and Inauguration of New Regional Crime Laboratory Office 11 Building, 15 January 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-3800 at 3803 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3922 at 3926 (English translation).
280
See, e.g., Manila Standard, Duterte: Kill all the “narco-pols”, 6 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2340; Inquirer,
Duterte, Palace defend shoot-to-kill order, 5 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1327 at 1328; The Sydney Morning
Herald, “The Punisher” Rodrigo Duterte issues shoot-to-kill orders against politicians in drug war, 6 August 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0574.
281
See, e.g., Official Gazette, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Second State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2017, PHL-OTP-
0001-3870; [REDACTED]; Rappler, Impunity: This is where they do not die, 25 November 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-2090. The apparent impact of such statements is reflected in reports that some victims of apparent WoD
killings had signs left beside their bodies which read, “you are a pusher you are an animal (sic)”. The New York
Times, President Duterte’s List, 10 January 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0398 at 0406. See also Rappler, Impunity: Let
Them Sleep, 17 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2266.

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not humanity”.282

108. On several occasions, generally following public criticism, Duterte or his

representatives have attempted to distance Duterte from his own statements. For example,
Duterte’s spokesperson has attempted to explain Duterte’s admissions about extrajudicial
killings as not “serious” and just “being playful”.283 However, those self-serving claims are not
convincing in view of the available information, in particular the high number of WoD killings.

Financial incentives and pressure on physical perpetrators to commit killings

109. The available information indicates that state officials have offered and granted
incentives such as cash payments, promotions, or awards284 for WoD-related killings, and
applied other forms of pressure to encourage perpetrators to carry out killings.285

110. As early as his presidential victory party, Duterte was reported to have offered bounties
to police and military for bringing in drug lords “dead or alive”, promising more for a dead
than a live drug lord.286 In August 2018, Duterte announced a 5 million Philippine peso bounty
per head for any police officer involved in the drug trade or other illegal activities, again
promising a higher amount for a killing than an arrest and signalling a policy which
encompasses killings287

111. On 3 August 2016, the DDB, chaired by Duterte, issued Regulation “Operation
Lawmen”, formalising monetary rewards for police operational success in the WoD. Section 7

282
Inquirer, Criminals are not human – Aguirre, 1 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1313 at 1314.
283
Philstar, Palace: Duterte “not serious” when he said EJKs “his only sin”, 28 September 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-
2033 at 2035-2036. See also A/HRC/44/22 at 2982, para. 80.
284
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, stages crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0098; Newtalk, Kill a criminal and I’ll pay you, says new president of the Philippines, 5
June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0090 at 0091; Philstar, CHR to Duterte: “Ninja cops” removal should not be by death,
19 August 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1429; PHL-OTP-0003-0183 at 0183; PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo
Duterte during his meeting with the Filipino community in Qatar, 15 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3199 at 3206
(original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3835 at 3843 (English translation); [REDACTED]; Rappler, Duterte to troops:
massacre criminals, I’ll promote you, 21 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1345 at 1347; ABS-CBN News, Metro
police chief explains award for Caloocan police, 6 September 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1831 at 1832; Reuters,
Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, stages crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-0092 at 0094. See also [REDACTED].
285
[REDACTED].
286
AP, Philippine poor get hit early in Duterte-inspired crackdown, PHL-OTP-0001-3874.
287
Philstar, CHR to Duterte: “Ninja cops” removal should not be by death, 19 August 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-
1429. See also CNN Philippines, Police hailed for operation that killed 2 “ninja cops” after Duterte’s bounty offer,
21 August 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0183 at 0183; Gulf News, Duterte announces bounty on rogue policemen, 18
August 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0182.

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of the Regulation provides that police who arrest “target drug personalities/violators” or
otherwise have “a meritorious case” are eligible for rewards.288 The available information
indicates that police officers have in fact received cash rewards for WoD-related operations,
including some which resulted in the arrest or death of drug personalities.289 A retired police
intelligence officer told Reuters that police were paid per head for killing, ranging from 20,000
pesos for a street-level dealer and user to 5 million pesos for a drug lord.290 An active police
officer working as part of an AIDU in Manila told AI that significant under-the-table payments
were made for “encounters” in which alleged drug offenders are killed.291 So-called vigilantes
also reportedly received financial remuneration from state actors for alleged WoD-related
killings, with several self-confessed perpetrators asserting that they were paid by police per
killing at a rate dependent on the profile of the target.292

112. In addition to financial incentives, Duterte has reportedly offered promotions293 and
medals294 for killing criminals. For example, Caloocan City Police Station reportedly won
awards in 2017 for “the Highest Accomplishment in Project Double Barrel/Barrel Alpha,
Highest Number of Arrested/Neutralized Top Most Wanted Person/High Valued Target and
Most Number of Firearms Confiscated CY 2016.”295

288
DDB, Board Regulation No. 1 Series of 2016, 3 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3529 at 3534 (point b(3)).
289
GMA News Online, Duterte gave P6.8-M cash rewards to cops in 2016, 28 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1847 at 1847.
290
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, stages crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0098.
291
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0588.
292
AI, If you are poor, you are killed at 0618; BBC, Philippines drugs war: The woman who kills dealers for a
living, 26 August 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0504; SBS Dateline, Getting Away With Murder, 25 October 2016,
PHL-OTP-0001-2504; Mirror, Husband and wife death squad execute 800 people in brutal Philippines war on
drug dealers, 25 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0515; Rappler, “Get it from the chief”: Murder in Manila Part 3,
6 October 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-1419.
293
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Duterte during his meeting with the Filipino community in Qatar, 15 April
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3199 at 3206 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3835 at 3843 (English translation);
Rappler, Duterte to troops: massacre criminals, I’ll promote you, 21 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1345 at
1347-1348.
294
The Manila Times, “Police drug dealers should be killed”, 5 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1358 at 1359; Inquirer,
Duterte urges public to kill drug dealers, 5 June 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1404 at 1405; [REDACTED].
295
ABS-CBN News, Metro police chief explains award for Caloocan police, 6 September 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
1831 at 1832. See also The Manila Times – Caloocan police got awards after Kian slay – 7 September 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-1819 at 1819-1820.

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113. Former police officers have also reportedly stated that police did not kill just for money
but also out of fear of themselves being included on watch lists of drug suspects, with some
officials killed for not cooperating,296 [REDACTED].297 [REDACTED].298

Failure to take steps to investigate or prosecute and promises of immunity

114. The existence of this policy can be further inferred from the apparent approval by
Philippine authorities of alleged WoD killings. The Duterte administration has listed certain
WoD killings under its official “accomplishments”,299 and officials have publically described
the WoD as “successful”.300 After 32 drug personalities were killed during a police operation
in Bulacan, Duterte stated, “They say that people died a while ago in Bulacan, 32, in a massive
raid. That's good. If we can just kill about another 32 everyday then maybe we can reduce the
— what ails this country” ”301

115. The official endorsement of WoD killings can be inferred from reported promises to
shield perpetrators from accountability. In a 2016 speech, Duterte said that where police are
involved in a shoot-out, “I have to believe the story of the police, for simply, they are my
subordinates and I am ultimately responsible for their deeds […] if you do your duty, do not
worry about cases, I will protect you, believe me […] if there’s somebody who will go to jail,
it’s me. I will assume full, legal responsibility”.302 In a speech to the 10th Infantry Division,
Duterte announced that, “Massacre 100 people, I’ll pardon all of you […] plus a promotion to
boot” […] “For as long as I am president, nobody but nobody – no military man or policeman
will go to prison because they performed their duties”.303

296
Reuters, Special Report: Police describe kill rewards, stages crime scenes in Duterte’s drug war, 18 April 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0092 at 0098.
297
[REDACTED].
298
[REDACTED].
299
PCOO, The Duterte Administration Year-End Report: 2017 Key Accomplishments, December 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-3355 at 3379.
300
Anadolu Agency, Philippines calls first year of anti-drug war “success”, 30 June 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0108
at 0108-0109; Philstar, Palace: Drug war hugely successful, 26 December 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-1395 at 1396.
See also PCOO, Interview with Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar, 11 September
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3278 at 3279 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3916 at 3918 (English translation).
301
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Duterte During the 19 th Founding Anniversary of the Volunteers Against
Crime and Corruption, 16 August 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3213 at 3213 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3849
at 3850 (English translation).
302
PCOO, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Speech during the 80th National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
Founding Anniversary, 14 November 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-3283 at 3288.
303
Rappler, Duterte to troops: massacre criminals, I’ll promote you, 21 September 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1345 at
1347-1348. [REDACTED].

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116. Duterte has continued this messaging of impunity throughout his presidency, reportedly
vowing to pardon and promote police involved in the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando
Espinosa Sr, who Duterte claimed was involved in the drug trade.304 In a speech at the 1st
General Assembly of League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Duterte said that if charges
were filed against police, “You are hereby granted pardon”, “kill them again, I will pardon
you”.305 Speaking to police in 2018, Duterte promised to shield police, asserting that those who
encountered problems in the performance of their duties should never worry as “I will take
care of you” […] “I will not allow them to go to prison”.306

117. This rhetoric is reflected in the Philippine authorities’ failure to take meaningful steps
to investigate or prosecute perpetrators of WoD killings. It appears that only a handful of
“token” cases – focused on low-level, physical perpetrators – have proceeded to trial.307 Only
one case, concerning the notorious murder of Kian Delos Santos, has proceeded to judgment.308
There is no information to indicate that any individual has been investigated for ordering,
planning, or instigating any killings. Senior or commanding officers implicated in killings have
been only temporarily relieved of duty and later moved or even promoted.309 NGOs have

304
ABS-CBN News, Duterte vows anew to pardon, promote cops who killed Espinosa, 1 February 2017, PHL-
OTP-0003-1383 at 1384.
305
PCOO, Speech of President Duterte at the 1st General Assembly of League of Municipalities of the Philippines,
14 March 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-3261 at 3276 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3898 at 3913 (English
translation).
306
PCOO, Speech of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during the Turnover Ceremony of 26 units Mitsubishi Patrol
Vehicle and Inauguration of New Regional Crime Laboratory Office 11 Building, 15 January 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-3800 at 3803 (original version), PHL-OTP-0003-3922 at 3926 (English translation).
307
AI, They Just Kill at 1035-1036; HRW, “Our Happy Family Is Gone”: Impact of the “War on Drugs” on
Children in the Philippines, May 2020, PHL-OTP-0003-1218 at 1229; HRW, World Report 2019: Philippines –
Events of 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0803 at 0804. On specific cases see, for example, GMA News Online, Pasay
City prosecutor finds cause to charge cops in Berteses’ killings, 25 April 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2218 at 2218
(concerning the case against two police officers for the killing of Jaypee and Renato Bertes); Rappler, DOJ
downgrades murder charges vs cops in Espinosa slay, 9 June 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2222; Time, Duterte has
brazenly reinstated 19 police who murdered a Philippine mayor last year, 14 July 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0501
(concerning the case against police officers for the killing of Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa); Manila Bulletin
News, Denial of bail petition of accused cops gives Carl’s father hope in attaining justice, 19 August 2019, PHL-
OTP-0003-2201; ABS-CBN News, Court orders arrest of 2 cops in Caloocan teen slays, 25 January 2018, PHL-
OTP-0003-2208 at 2209-2211 (concerning the case against police officers for the killing of teenagers Carl Angelo
Arnaiz and Reynaldo De Guzman); ABS-CBN News, Pampanga court grants bail to cop tagged as mastermind in
Jee Ick Joo kidnap-slay, 7 May 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-2177 (concerning the case against police officers for the
killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo). See further generally [REDACTED]; Inquirer, Command
responsibility? Chiefs of erring cops go scot-free, 4 November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2189 at 2191.
308
Kian case at 3142-3143; AI, First conviction of police officers in “war on drugs” shows its deadly reality, 29
November 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-0878. See also A/HRC/44/22 at 2973, para. 26; [REDACTED].
309
See, e.g., Inquirer, Command responsibility? Chiefs of erring cops go scot-free, 4 November 2018, PHL-OTP-
0003-2189 at 2190-2191; HRW, Philippine Police Promotions an Affront to “Drug War” victims, 7 June 2018,

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reported that overall a “climate of impunity” has prevailed.310 OHCHR similarly found that
“[d]espite credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings in the
context of the campaign against illegal drugs, there has been near impunity for such
violations.”311

118. The minimal prospects for accountability in the Philippines for alleged WoD crimes are
underscored by the two Senate Committee hearings on the WoD concluding “with accusations
of whitewashing”,312 as well as Duterte refusing access to the territory of the Philippines for
investigations by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary
Executions.313 On 30 June 2020, in the context of the opening of the fourty-fourth session of
the UN Human Rights Council, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced the creation
of an inter-agency committee, purportedly established to review over 5,000 anti-drug
operations which resulted in killings,314 but little information is available regarding its actual
work or output. On 24 February 2021, Guevarra announced that the committee’s initial
findings confirm irregularities in the police’s handling of WoD killings, including failures to
observe standard procedures for handling crime scene evidence. The panel has reportedly
referred cases for disciplinary action and criminal investigation; however, to date there appear
to have been no further criminal prosecutions as a result.315

119. [REDACTED].316 [REDACTED].317 [REDACTED].318 [REDACTED]. The overall

failure to take meaningful action to bring perpetrators to justice, particularly when combined

PHL-OTP-0003-1049 at 1049-1050; Sun Star, Two choices for CCPO chief linked to EJK, 24 June 2019, PHL-
OTP-0003-2229 at 2230-2231.
310
OBS and FIDH, Philippines: “I'll kill you along with drug addicts”: President Duterte’s war on human rights
defenders in the Philippines, February 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-0831 at 0835, 0838.
311
A/HRC/44/22 at 2973, para. 26.
312
AI, Philippines: Amnesty International Calls for Independent Investigation of Human Rights Violations
Committed in the Context of the ‘War on Drugs’, PHL-OTP-0003-0799 at 0801.
313
Reuters, Philippines cancels visit by U.N. rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, 14 December 2016, PHL-OTP-
0001-3880; Philstar, Agnes Callamard still not welcome in Philippines – Palace, 28 Febnruary 2018, PHL-OTP-
0001-3879; PNA, Callamard is not persona non grata: Palace, 3 March 2018, PHL-OTP-0001-3881. See also
OHCHR, Press briefing note on attacks/threats by States against UN human rights experts, 21 November 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-2892; [REDACTED].
314
OHCHR, Human Rights Council opens forty-fourth regular session, hears High Commissioner’s update on the
human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 June 2020, PHL-OTP-0002-0598.
315
HRW, Philippines Admits Police Role in “Drug War” Killings, 25 February 2021, PHL-OTP-0002-0597; ABS-
CBN News, Guevarra: Weapons in “nanlaban” cases not examined but justice system working, 24 February 2021,
PHL-OTP-0002-0602.
316
[REDACTED].
317
[REDACTED].
318
[REDACTED].

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with promises of immunity or protection from accountability, constitutes a form of

encouragement to perpetrators to continue committing violent crimes against suspected drug
users and dealers.

4. Widespread and systematic nature of the attack

120. The available information provides a reasonable basis to believe that the attack was
carried out on a large scale and frequent basis, targeting and victimising a significant number
of civilians in regions throughout the Philippines over a protracted period of time. According
to available information, from 1 July 2016 until 16 March 2019, between 12,000 and at least
20,000 killings were committed in connection with the WoD campaign, of which over 5,300
are directly attributable to state actors.319 The crimes occurred over a large geographic area,
with all 17 regions of the country affected to varying extents.320 Moreover, the commission of
the acts – particularly in certain periods – took place with a high intensity. 321 For example,
during the first one hundred days in which the WoD campaign was implemented, according to
some accounts, more than 3,000 individuals were killed in connection with the campaign.322
Similarly, it was reported that in the first two years of the WoD campaign an average of 33
people were killed daily, according to figures provided by the PNP itself.323

121. The available information also provides a reasonable basis to believe that the attack was
systematic.324 The systematic nature of the attack can be inferred from the evidence of a State
policy outlined above,325 and it is further manifested by the apparent advance preparations
made for the attack;326 the highly organised and coordinated nature of the attack;327 the

319
See para. 19, 21 above.
320
See para. 78 above.
321
See, e.g., The Drug Archive, Building a dataset; The Drug Archive, Looking back: Day One, Year One of the
anti-drug campaign, PHL-OTP-0003-3038; The Drug Archive, The Drug Killings: Who, What, Where, When,
How?, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-2996 at 2999.
322
Inquirer, Bato: PNP “winning war on drugs” in Duterte’s first 100 days, 3 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-1586
at 1586; AI, Philippines: Duterte’s 100 days of carnage, 7 October 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0823 at 0823.
323
Philstar, PNP: 22,983 deaths under inquiry since drug war launched, 11 June 2018, PHL-OTP-0003-2269; The
Drug Archive, Looking back: Day One, Year One of the anti-drug campaign, PHL-OTP-0003-3038. See also Al
Jazeera, Durterte’s drug war: Death toll goes past 6,000, 16 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0516;
[REDACTED].
324
For a similar conclusion reached by others, see HRW, License to Kill at 0761; AI, If you are poor, you are
killed at 0588.
325
See Bemba Article 58 Decision, para. 33; Harun and Kushayb Article 58 Decision, para. 62.
326
See para. 13, 95, 103-107 above.
327
Such coordination and organisation among relevant actors is evident in the manner in which victims were
identified and targeted (such as the use of “drug watch lists”); the planning and implementation of anti-drug
operations during which the killings were carried out, as well as the physical perpetration of the acts; and activities

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deliberate and near-exclusive victimisation of the targeted population;328 and the clear and
consistent pattern of violence directed at the targeted population.

5. Nexus between the individual acts and the attack

122. The available information provides a reasonable basis to believe that there is a nexus329
between the identified individual killings and the attack, on the basis of factors including: (i)
the geographical and temporal overlap between the attack and the identified crimes; (ii) the
fact that in many instances the perpetrators of the identified crimes – members of Philippine
law enforcement and affiliated perpetrators – also appear to be responsible for the attack; and
(iii) the fact that the same category of persons (those suspected of involvement in illegal drug
activities or otherwise connected to individuals involved in such activities) were both the object
of the attack and the victims of the identified crimes.

E. Murders allegedly committed in Davao before July 2016

123. Extrajudicial killings which closely resemble the alleged WoD killings in 2016-2019
were reportedly carried out in the Davao area (“Davao”) also before 1 July 2016.330 The
Prosecution therefore requests the Chamber to authorise the investigation into the situation
from 1 November 2011 onward.

124. The information indicates that law enforcement and members of DDS killed more than
1,000 people in Davao from 1988 to 2016.331 In 2015 Duterte publicly stated that “around
1,700” people had been killed.332 For the period 2011-2015, the information indicates that there

undertaken by the perpetrators immediately prior to and after the killings (such as disabling surveillance cameras,
turning off street lamps, planting evidence, and taking other measures to conceal their conduct). See para. 17, 28,
32, 38, 42, 60-62, 72 above.
328
See para. 17, 72, 92 above.
329
Bemba TJ, para. 164-165; Katanga TJ, para. 1124.
330
The Guardian, Philippines president ordered murders and killed official, claims hitman, 15 September 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0579; [REDACTED].
331
HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0908-0909; Reuters, Blood and benefits: Duterte imposes his hometown
formula on the Philippines, 28 December 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-0199 at 0200. See also News.com.au, The
Philippines’ real-life Punisher, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, urged to run for president, 2 July 2014, PHL-
OTP-0003-0378 at 0379; Inquirer, Summary: Allegations of “DDS” member in Senate hearing, 15 September
2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2029 at 2030; New Naratif, The Duterte Playbook, 9 September 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-
2336; PREDA Foundation, The Victims of the Davao Death Squad: Consolidated Report 1998-2015, 6 May 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-1060; [REDACTED]; Inquirer, What Went Before: Davao Death Squad Senate Inquiry, 23 May
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-2321.
332
Rappler, Duterte: I killed 700? No, make that 1,700, 8 December 2015, PHL-OTP-0003-1297 at 1299.

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were around 385 victims of extrajudicial killings in Davao. 333 The majority of victims were
young men suspected of involvement in small-scale drug dealing or minor crimes such as petty
theft and drug use, while gang members and street children were also killed.334

125. The persons alleged to have perpetrated the pre-2016 killings in Davao are groups of
local police officers and vigilantes, notably the DDS (which included both police officers and
private citizens).335 [REDACTED].336 The available information suggests that local law
enforcement were heavily involved in the DDS, and that some DDS members were in fact
police.337

126. Persons involved in pre-2016 killings in Davao in some cases appear to be the very
same people that were later involved in the WoD. Reuters documented the transfer of a group
of police officers from Davao to Station 6 in Quezon City in Metro Manila after July 2016,
one of whom said that Davao police brought “special kill skills” to Quezon.338 Moreover, after
Duterte became President, some law enforcement personnel formerly based in Davao were
promoted to command positions which were key to the execution of Duterte’s national
WoD.339 Just as he has done as President,340 Mayor Duterte made statements publicly
supporting and encouraging the killing of petty criminals and drug dealers in Davao, including,
notably, during the 2011-2016 period. In 2015, Duterte announced that he maintained order in
Davao by killing criminals.341 [REDACTED].342

333
PREDA Foundation, The Victims of the Davao Death Squad: Consolidated Report 1998-2015, 6 May 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-1060.
334
HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0893, 0904, 0916-0918; Reuters, Duterte targets Philippine children in bid
to widen drug war, 14 February 2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0301 at 0304.
335
[REDACTED]; HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0939-0943. [REDACTED].
336
[REDACTED].
337
[REDACTED]; HRW, You Can Die Any Time 0940. See also [REDACTED].
338
Reuters, Davao boys: How a secretive police squad racked up kills in Duterte's drug war, 19 December 2017,
PHL-OTP-0003-0309 at 0311.
339
DILG, Catalino S. Cuy, profile, undated, PHL-OTP-0003-3830; PDEA, Change Has Come: PDEA Welcomes
its 5th Director General, Drug Buster: The Official Newsletter of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Vol.
3, Issue 1 (2016), PHL-OTP-0003-2623 at 2623; Inquirer, Duterte names ex-Davao City jail warden as new BJMP
chief, 27 June 2019, PHL-OTP-0003-2326; Reuters, Duterte’s War on Drugs: The boys from Davao, 19 December
2017, PHL-OTP-0003-0549.
340
See para. 103-107 above.
341
Politiko Politics, Duterte shares grisly secret to keeping Davao City as PH’s safest, 5 October 2017, PHL-OTP-
0003-1287 at 1287-1288. See also Rappler, Duterte: I killed 700? No, make that 1,700, 8 December 2015, PHL-
OTP-0003-1297 at 1299.
342
[REDACTED].

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127. The pattern of killings observed in Davao was virtually the same as the one reported
during the WoD in 2016-2019. Sources also indicate that members of law enforcement killed
suspected drug personalities in the course of anti-drug operations, and conducted visits to
houses of suspected drug pushers, in operations known as “tuktok”, which appeared to follow
a similar model to the Tokhang operations carried out during the WoD from 2016.343
Perpetrators of killings reportedly received payments for “successful” operations, with higher
rewards for larger targets.344 Impunity is another consistently reported feature of the pre-2016
alleged killings.345

128. In conclusion, the available information indicates that the similarities between alleged
crimes committed in Davao in 2011-2016 and the post-2016 WoD include: an asserted
rationale for extrajudicial killings of fighting crime and drug use; public encouragement of
killings by Duterte; an apparently consistent modus operandi and other shared features, such
as advance warning, coordination between police and barangay officials in targeting victims,
and payment for killings and subsequent impunity; perpetrators appear to be police and
vigilantes; and the majority of victims appear to be drug users and petty criminals. Indeed,
some sources have described the WoD as “rolling out on a national scale” the model which
Duterte “honed” in Davao.346 These similarities demonstrate that the 2011-2016 events are
sufficiently linked to the 2016-2019 events and should be included in the investigation.

F. Other crimes

129. The Prosecution notes that several of the incidents described above appear to have
included severe beatings or other mistreatment of victims prior to the killings,347 as well as
instances in which victims’ family members were forced to witness the killings.348 Such
conduct may constitute the additional Crimes Against Humanity of Torture or Other Inhumane
Acts under articles 7(1)(f) and (k) of the Statute. In light of the applicable page limit, the

343
Rappler, Dissecting and weighing Duterte’s anti-crime strategy, 6 May 2016, PHL-OTP-0003-2338.
344
HRW, You Can Die Any Time at 0948-0949; [REDACTED].
345
[REDACTED]. Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary of
Arbitrary Executions – Addendum: Follow-up to country recommendations – Philippines, A/HRC/11/2/Add.8,
29 April 2009, PHL-OTP-0003-2952 at 2956, para. 9, 2958, para. 20.
346
Reuters, Blood and benefits: Duterte imposes his hometown formula on the Philippines, 28 December 2016,
PHL-OTP-0003-0199 at 0200.
347
See para. 40, 43, 46, and 59 above.
348
See para. 25, 26, 34, and 41 above.

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Prosecution has focused the current Request on the more prominent crime of Murder.
However, the Prosecution requests that any authorised investigation also include these and
other crimes which are sufficiently linked to the WoD campaign.349

IV. COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 48

130. The Appeals Chamber has held that a Chamber’s decision under article 15(4) does not
involve determinations on admissibility and interests of justice.350 Nevertheless, in determining
whether to make a request under article 15(3), the Prosecution remains obliged under rule 48
to consider all the conditions under article 53(1)(a) to (c).351 The Prosecution has done so, and
has concluded that potential cases which would likely arise from an investigation into the
situation would be both admissible and sufficiently grave to justify further action by the Court.
The Prosecution has identified no substantial reason to believe that an investigation would not
be in the interests of justice.

V. RELIEF REQUESTED

131. For the reasons set out in this Request and on the basis of the supporting material
submitted to the Chamber, the Prosecution requests the Chamber to authorise the
commencement of an investigation into the Situation in the Philippines, in relation to crimes
within the jurisdiction of the Court allegedly committed on the territory of the Philippines
between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the WoD campaign, as well
as any other crimes which are sufficiently linked to these events.

Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor

Dated this 14th day of June 2021

At The Hague, The Netherlands

349
See, e.g., Georgia Article 15 Decision, para. 63-64; Myanmar Article 15 Decision, para. 126-130.
350
Afghanistan Judgment on Appeal, para. 34-35, 37, 46.
351
Afghanistan Judgment on Appeal, para. 35, 37, 48.

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