Open Letter: Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied | Ensure The Full & Immediate Prosecution Of Duterte

The March 2025 arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was a major step towards justice for the Filipino people and a sign of hope across the world that fascist leaders can be held accountable and brought to justice.

However, despite the cries of the people for justice, the first hearing of Duterte’s trial on September 23rd has been postponed after his defense claimed that he is “unfit for trial” due to alleged cognitive impairment. This is nothing but a sham and a tactic designed to delay proceedings and evade accountability.

We, ICHRP and all peace loving people of the world, denounce this maneuver. As the mothers of and families of the drug war have movingly declared: Duterte is only pretending to be weak, while their loved ones lie in graves, denied justice for years.

From 2016 to 2022, Duterte’s presidency was marked by a bloody campaign against the poor, activists, human rights defenders, and peace advocates. Duterte’s “war on drugs” and military campaigns empowered police, military, and civilian vigilantes to kill drug users without discretion and with impunity. His tenure as president would leave over 30,000 dead, including women and children, and left a chilling effect all over the Philippines, shrinking democratic space. Duterte was responsible for the Anti-Terror Law and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict, which institutionalized the targeting of dissenters and activists as “communist-terrorists” and intensifying repression and violations of international humanitarian law against civilians and those struggling for the genuine liberation of the Philippines.

Duterte is alive and well — unlike the thousands killed under his regime, whose families still wait for justice. No amount of drama will erase his accountability.

We call on the international community to reject Duterte’s theatrics. Let us insist: justice delayed is justice denied.

We the undersigned, demand that:

1) Duterte’s trial be commenced immediately;

2) any maneuvers aimed at absolving Duterte or securing his interim release be squashed;

3) Duterte remain in detention and face justice in the ICC; and

4) the Marcos Jr. government fully cooperate with the ICC investigation and cease all acts of obstruction or protection of Duterte.

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