Communist Party of the Philippines: Crucial in getting ICC Duterte conviction

Last of three parts

I HAD thought the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) case against former president Rodrigo Duterte was nonsense and would be immediately thrown to the dustbin. After all, how could the ICC try a former head of a sovereign nation that has a fully functioning justice system, in contrast to cases in which it got a conviction — which was in three countries barely out of the Stone Age, namely Congo, Mali and Uganda, involving crimes against humanity committed in the course of civil wars.

How could the ICC try a head of state for his intensified police operations to get rid of his country of illegal drugs? No wonder only Cambodia, among Southeast Asian nations, is a member of the ICC, unlike 72 other countries, including the United States, India and China.

I have written two columns that prove that Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has struck an alliance with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for it to provide the cadres and mass organizations to manufacture false evidence and portray Duterte as a mass murderer, which is totally atrocious if one really looks at the evidence. That 30,000 were killed in the war against illegal drugs has been proven as one of the biggest fake news ever, a figure invented by leftist organizations and anti-Duterte publications such as Rappler, which was funded by the American institution National Endowment for Democracy, to demonize Duterte for distancing the country from the US and drawing it closer to China.

To add to my arguments, I asked an artificial intelligence (AI) app — which is really a glorified but superfast researcher and compiler of items posted on the internet — to report the role of the Communists in the ICC case.

However, it refused to use the term “communist,” as there is no hard evidence to link it to the Party, of course, since it is an underground organization. It used freely the euphemism “leftist,” which refers really to a member of the CPP or a sympathizer.

Report

The AI’s report:

Leftists in the Philippines have supported the ICC case against Duterte, particularly in relation to his “war on drugs” and the allegations of crimes against humanity. This support is evident through the actions and advocacy of human rights groups, activists and lawyers who often align with leftist ideologies, focusing on social justice and accountability for state violence, during Duterte’s campaign.

Here are the key ways they have supported the ICC case:

Documentation and evidence gathering: Human rights advocates, many of whom identify with leftist principles due to their focus on systemic inequality and state oppression, have been instrumental in compiling evidence for the ICC. For instance, lawyers representing victims’ families gathered evidence from hundreds of cases of extrajudicial killings, which was submitted to the ICC.

Organizations like Amnesty International, whose Southeast Asia researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard described Duterte’s ICC appearance as “a symbolic moment” for victims, have conducted major investigations into extrajudicial executions, concluding that these acts meet the threshold of crimes against humanity. Amnesty International, often aligned with leftist human rights advocacy, has been vocal in supporting the ICC’s efforts.

Advocacy

Leftist activists and victims’ families, often supported by human rights groups, have marched and protested to demand justice, amplifying the ICC’s case.

For example, on March 14, 2025, during Duterte’s initial ICC appearance, relatives of drug-war victims gathered in Quezon City, Metro Manila, to watch the proceedings, joined by activists demanding accountability. These groups have consistently called for Duterte’s “expeditious surrender” to the ICC, framing his arrest as a victory against state impunity.

Human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, who joined the ICC as assistant to counsel in June 2022, represents victims of the drug war and has been a vocal advocate for the ICC case. Conti, known for her work with marginalized communities — a hallmark of leftist advocacy — has highlighted the risks faced by victims’ families, even alleging that Duterte’s supporters have targeted them with online abuse and disinformation campaigns to discredit their testimonies. Her pro bono work on behalf of victims aligns with leftist principles of challenging state power and advocating for the oppressed.

Leftist ideology, which often emphasizes systemic change, anti-imperialism and the rights of the working class, aligns with the ICC case in several ways:

Marginalized

Duterte’s drug war allegedly disproportionately targeted poor, urban men, with death-toll estimates ranging from 6,000 (official police figures) to 30,000 (human rights groups). Leftists have framed this as a form of class-based violence, arguing that the state under Duterte systematically murdered the poor under the guise of law enforcement — a narrative supported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. This resonates with leftist critiques of capitalist systems that perpetuate inequality and state oppression.

Leftist groups have long opposed impunity for state actors, a principle central to the ICC’s mission. The Philippine Coalition for the ICC, co-chaired by activists like Dr. Aurora Parong, has celebrated Duterte’s arrest as a step toward accountability, despite the long road ahead. This aligns with leftist demands for justice against authoritarian leaders, though some leftists historically critique the ICC as a tool of Western imperialism.

Leftist activists have countered Duterte’s narrative that the killings were justified or that police only killed in self-defense. By documenting cases like that of Sheerah Escudero’s brother Ephraim, found bound and shot in 2017, they’ve challenged the state’s version of events, aligning with a leftist tradition of resisting official narratives that obscure systemic violence.

Tensions with ICC support: Some leftists in Southeast Asia are skeptical of the ICC, viewing it as a Western institution that can be politicized — a concern heightened by Duterte’s arrest amid his political rivalry with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This reflects a broader regional hesitation toward international criminal justice, rooted in principles of non-interference, as noted in a 2025 Verfassungsblog analysis. Leftists who support the ICC in this case may face criticism from peers who see it as undermining national sovereignty, a core leftist anti-imperialist stance.

Arrest

Duterte’s arrest in March 2025, facilitated by Marcos, has been framed by some as a political move rather than a pure pursuit of justice. Leftists supporting the ICC risk being perceived as aligned with Marcos. This politicization may undermine the broader leftist goal of systemic change if the ICC case is seen as a tool of elite power struggles.

Several leftist lawyers, aside from Conti, have been involved in the ICC case against Duterte, particularly in advocating for victims of his “war on drugs” and contributing to the legal efforts that led to his arrest in March 2025. These lawyers are often associated with human rights advocacy and progressive ideologies, focusing on justice for marginalized communities targeted during Duterte’s campaign.

The AI report, of course, relies only on information posted on the internet, and therefore claims that the Left’s support of the ICC case stems from its ideology that emphasizes resistance to state attacks on the working class.

I do not buy that. This is the most unprincipled alliance an elected government has entered into, with an organization that has, through its armed struggle spanning 56 years, helped impoverish the nation, and which continues to undertake violence to the overthrow of our republican, democratic system. The Communist Party, I was told, will be making big money in its alliance with Marcos, crucial at this time when it needs money for its party-lists to win in the May elections and at this time that its political and military strength is at its lowest levels ever.

Marcos has given new life to the Communist Party in order to politically bury the Dutertes, the only threat to his clan’s greed to remain in power — Faust making a pact with the Devil.

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Communist Party of the Philippines: Crucial in getting ICC Duterte conviction
Source: Breaking News PH