MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) admitted that the justice system failed the victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
During the Senate investigation into the ICC’s arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla led the administration’s explanation of Duterte’s transfer to The Hague.
For the first time, Remulla confirmed what many EJK victims’ families had long felt: the justice system had failed them.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano questioned why so few cases were filed after Duterte left office and whether the justice system was functioning.
“The cases that we are speaking about were filed by their families in the ICC because they could not get justice in the country. I think that’s one thing that no one wants to acknowledge, that there was a failure of our justice system for a long time,” Remulla said.
For the longest time, families of EJK victims had nowhere to turn, Remulla said. The DOJ chief added that they were desperate for someone to listen.
The DOJ consulted Raquel Fortun, one of the country’s few forensic pathologists, who found evidence of execution-style killings among EJK victims.
Remulla said that in one case Fortun investigated, the death certificate listed cardiac arrest as the cause of death. However, the autopsy revealed bullet holes in the skull.
“The difficulty that we had from 2022 is that in wrongful deaths in the country, where something foul was suspected, there were no police reports. As a matter of practice, there were no police reports in wrongful death situations,” he said.
He also noted that 95% of wrongful deaths had no police reports.
The DOJ said there was a slowdown in case filings, particularly in Davao—the hometown of the Dutertes.
Tensions rose during the Senate hearing when Sen. Imee Marcos questioned why these cases were not pursued under her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., after Duterte left office.
“Justice may now be even more elusive if Duterte is in The Hague,” she said.
Remulla, however, maintained that the administration is still working to fix the justice system.
Duterte’s war on drugs resulted in at least 6,000 deaths, though rights groups estimate the toll could be as high as 30,000. However, convictions in local courts remained rare. Reports of EJKs continue to surface, with many victims killed execution-style on the streets.
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