PROSECUTORS at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have filed an application to admit three expert reports as evidence in the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte, including one that finds a “systemic practice” of extrajudicial killings occurred during his administration.
The November 4 filing — the 11th under Rule 68(3) — describes the reports as relevant, reliable, and probative, and asserts that admitting them would not prejudice Duterte’s rights. The move marks a significant step in building the factual foundation of the case before the court.
One of the experts, identified as P‑1162, analyzed fatality patterns in anti‑drug operations and concluded that the scale of killings could not plausibly be explained by legitimate self‑defense. His study compared the number of suspects killed and wounded, police fatalities, and the volume of operations against both national and international benchmarks — with a detailed focus on Bulacan province.
The report finds that the ratios of suspects to police officers killed “provide a compelling evidentiary basis to conclude that a vast majority of these encounters were staged to mask targeted killings,” representing a systematic pattern rather than isolated incidents.
The expert further described the use of deadly force during the Duterte era as “extreme and a statistical outlier,” even when compared with jurisdictions known for violent policing. An addendum to his report also contrasts these figures with baseline death rates from the presidencies of Benigno Aquino III and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., confirming that fatalities under Duterte “significantly exceed the number that would be expected” under normal conditions. Prosecutors are seeking to introduce the expert’s full datasets, supporting materials, and prior analyses alongside the other two reports as the case proceeds.
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