ICC Prosecutors Name Duterte's 8 'Co-Perpetrators' — From Bato Dela Rosa to Bong Go — and Show the Drug War Org Chart
It's not just Duterte anymore. On Day 2 of the ICC confirmation of charges hearing in The Hague, prosecutors dropped a bombshell — an organizational chart showing who allegedly helped former President Rodrigo Duterte execute his nationwide anti-drug campaign. The prosecution named eight co-perpetrators: Ronald Dela Rosa, Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan, Oscar Albayalde, Bong Go, Dante Gierran, Vitaliano Aguirre II, and Isidro Lapeña.
The prosecution and the Common Legal Representative of the Victims (CLRV), lawyer Paolina Massidda, both argued that the drug war was not a series of isolated incidents but a 'common plan' to 'neutralize' alleged drug suspects. Massidda said Duterte's so-called Davao model — his blueprint for fighting drugs as mayor of Davao City — was upscaled into a nationwide killing machine after he became president.
'Rather than addressing the root causes of drug addiction, such as poverty, lack of education, unemployment, and inequality, the Duterte administration framed the issue as a criminal one, focusing on punitive over social responses,' Massidda told the court. She called it a 'selective, violent crackdown on the most vulnerable.'
CLRV's Gilbert Andres echoed the sentiment even more bluntly: the drug war was not really a 'war on drugs' but rather a 'war against the poor.' Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity — murder and attempted murder — covering 49 incidents and at least 76 victims from his time as both Davao mayor and Philippine president.
The defense team will get their turn to present arguments on Day 3, scheduled for Thursday at 10 AM local time (5 PM Manila time). Duterte himself has opted not to attend, having signed a one-page waiver. For the eight officials now named as co-perpetrators, the question is whether the ICC's reach will eventually extend to them as well — a possibility that could reshape Philippine politics for years to come.
Source: Philippine Canadian Inquirer
