ICC mass murder complaint puts Duterte in the dock of history

RACHEL A.G. REYES

LET us put to one side, just for a moment, the question of whether the complaint filed with the International Criminal Court by lawyer Jude Josue Sabio, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte and 11 officials of mass murder and crimes against humanity, has any hope of succeeding. Whatever happens, the submission of a 77-page document titled “The situation of mass murder in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte: the mass murderer” is, without doubt, a brave move that signals a heartening new boldness among those who oppose Duterte’s crazed war against drugs. Whether or not Duterte’s lethal campaign is thwarted, the complaint is a landmark case that will influence the way analysts—historians, political scientists, sociologists—in the future understand what is happening today. Sabio and his complaint, in other words, will not be ignored by history when it comes to judging the Duterte presidency.