Volunteers band together to protect drug war victims at ICC

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – On the third and fourth days of the pre-trial proceedings of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, the supporters of the former president and human rights advocates have all come to share virtually one space just outside the gates of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

It prompted the volunteer security team of the victims to form a human barricade whenever Sheerah Escudero and Llore Pasco come out. The two, and Rubilyn Litao, the coordinator of their group Rise Up, had just been victimized by a doctored photo on Day 2.

The manipulated photo shows the three women wearing luxury designer bags, and was posted by a Duterte supporter inferring that the victims were rich, and not poor victims of human rights abuses.

On Day 3, a woman tried to get past the barricade. She was told no. She was warned that Europe has a strict data privacy law, or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that’s been widely understood as that you cannot film someone without their consent. She insisted.

“Tapos ie-AI niyo na naman? (Then you’ll use AI on them again?)” a member of the security team said. “I’m not a content creator, promise,” said the woman.

It’s the most tense site outside the ICC. People supporting the victims said they have a reason to be so protective.

“On February 22, our contingent was heckled by Duterte supporters calling us supporters of drug addicts. Our security team has also been filmed without their consent and have been subjected to slanderous comments on social media,” said Patricia Enriquez of the Duterte Panagutin Network or Hold Duterte Accountable Network.

Video of Escudero and Pasco on the bus in The Hague had also been making the rounds of pro-Duterte pages. Enriquez said this footage “was used as a means to facilitate derogatory remarks from troll armies.”

The anxiety is so bad that when someone came up to Pasco to say they’ll share a video of her, she immediately thought the worst. “Baka mamaya video na kung ano-ano na naman, na paninira,” said Pasco. (You never know maybe that’s a video harassing us again.)

The team had to rely on help from young foreigners based in The Netherlands. They are activists who had done campaigns against reclamation in Manila Bay. In The Hague, they acted as advanced parties, lookouts, and were the ones who signaled when the coast was clear.

“It’s go-time,” they’d say, and it means the pro-Duterte supporters had dispersed a little.

“We were sensing from the other side of the fence, a lot of people wanted to take pictures, and wanted to meddle in between, so we felt the need to secure the interviews and also make sure that all the victims, families, and their legal counsel get into the ICC and out without being harassed, bothered or heckled,” said Paul Evers, one of the volunteers from the group Maya Solidarity.

‘Put yourself in the position of the victims’ families’

The pro-Duterte camp has many supporters on livestream throughout their entire stay outside the ICC. While the pro-Duterte vloggers were mainly interested in speaking with the former Duterte cabinet officials coming out of the court, some did try to stay behind to film the victims, too.

The victims’ side thought it would be best to assert that only ICC-accredited media personnel be able to get into the barricade. Journalists, both based in The Hague and those coming in from Manila, were given press accreditations by the ICC. “But this is public space!” one supporter said.

Alvin Sarzate, a prominent pro-Duterte vlogger, said their side wouldn’t harm victims.

“It is a peddled thought, it is a peddled narrative. There’s no such thing that we wanted them to feel unsafe or whatnot. Iniisip nilang talaga yan (that’s just all in their heads), actually, to be honest,” said Sarzate.

“Try to put yourself in the position of the victims’ families because they are people who have had loved ones murdered by the person you’re supporting,” said Evers.

“It’s one thing that just one person is standing like 100 meters away. But this is tens of people very close by in very large numbers, shouting various slogans and putting cameras in the faces of people, and that is especially worrying since the Duterte regime and also its supporters have been known for troll farming. So I think the concerns from the victims are totally justified,” Evers added.

By the end of the week, the victims’ families are visibly tired. Some of them have fallen sick due to the weather. (It rained some days in The Hague.)

Escudero said she tries her best “not to engage.”

“Bully us, harass us, threaten us. It won’t change the fact that Duterte is still in jail and the decision will still be up to the judges. Hindi po kami ‘yung magpapasya. ‘Yung judges po ‘yung magpapasya (it’s not up to us, it’s up to the judges),” said Escudero.

In his closing statement, victims’ lawyer Gilbert Andres told the judges to confirm the charges so victims’ families can be “free from the shadows of fake news.” – Rappler.com