It’s going to be a long process

Ric Maulion .

THE legal process would be long at the International Criminal Court. But that’s the way it goes at The Hague. Both parties’ side  would be heard.  Fatou Bersouda, ICC prosecutor, acknowledged that. There’s no timeline on the length of the examination, she clarified.

Hopefully, a need for pursuing it would be established so that the prosecutor could proceed to the next step which is an official investigation.  If all is well and in order, a warrant of arrest could be issued. Why not? At least, during the process, the systematic killings would most likely be stopped. That is the most likely scenario.

Lawyer Jude Sabio sees no problem about establishing a probable cause with with whistleblowers Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas providing first-hand accounts. Ernesto Avasola’s testimony even corroborated  Matobato’s and Lascanas’s statements, Sabio said.

Note that, based on their narratives, they were not just  mere witnesses but willing participants in the alleged Davao Death Squad campaign that allegedly saw at least 1,424 people murdered. According to Sabio, that alone is enough ground to establish a crime control system that was instituted in Davao and later, in the country.

Davao was allegedly run like by an underworld-like or Mafia-like syndicate that killed people on mere suspicion — again, mere suspicion — of being criminals with links to the drug trade. Note that many of those killed were poor people. According to Matobato, no big-time and filthy rich drug lord was ever targeted.

It allegedly all started with the creation of “Lambada Boys” in 1988. It was the now late broadcaster Jun Pala, an erstwhile ally turned nemesis of the then mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who subsequently called it as the “Davao Death Squad.” The popular radio commentator was later killed in an ambush.

The ruthlessness of the DDS can be seen on Youtube where Matobato’s criminal past has been made public. Matobato himself admitted killing at least seven people. Reason for his turnaround: his conscience can’t take it anymore. He narrated remorsefully. He went through a  religious conversion, and that emboldened him to blow the whistle in the Senate. The rest, of course, is now  history.

Of course, Malacanang was quick to come to the defense of the alleged mastermind even as it downplayed the action that the prosecutor has decided to take. It won’t prosper, and the President is addressing the issue, said Duterte lawyer Sal Panelo. Spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte was already tired of the allegations and so, he is prepared to defend himself and will just wait for the rule of law to take its course.

News analyst Vergel Santos said the problem was on how people interpreted  and perceive the resurging culture of violence given Duterte’s popularity. Had Matobato and Lascanas been given more time during the Senate investigation, Santos said, the public could have connected the dots. But what are they in power for?

Sabio’s take: Duterte was new in Malacañang and was enjoying enormous popularity ratings at that time. It was a numbers game in Congress, and the administration handled the opposition by roughly. Sen. Leila de Lima, for instance, was removed as Senate justice committee chair, and them imprisoned.

Luckily, there are people like Sabio who are still fighting for lowly citizens and faceless victims. He said helping Matobato as legal counsel is a duty. I think it is his “calling”!

Sabio’s legal journey is long but he doesn’t mind. Given the support of those who believe in his cause, he is optimistic that he could win the legal battle in The Hague.

He says he doesn’t need thousands of cases to win a conviction. One, two, three to five cases are enough. Imagine, how much more if there are thousands of civilians systematically killed?

Human life is sacred. The Constitution itself protects it. And truth and justice should prevail.