The defense of the former President launched a forceful counter-argument, asserting the case before the International Criminal Court rests on a foundation of speculation, not concrete evidence. Lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman directly challenged the prosecution, claiming their entire case is an “artificial construct” built from the weakest possible data.
Kaufman emphasized a critical absence: direct testimony. He stated that within the 49 alleged murder incidents presented by the prosecution, not a single witness has come forward to claim they received a direct order from the former President to commit violence. This lack of a “smoking gun,” he argued, fundamentally undermines the prosecution’s claims.
The prosecution had previously argued a “common plan” existed, alleging the former President orchestrated a systematic campaign to eliminate civilians through a network of police and hired operatives. They presented a map illustrating the scale of the killings, attempting to demonstrate a pattern that met the threshold for crimes against humanity.
Kaufman countered this narrative with data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, covering the period from July 2016 to February 2019. These statistics revealed over 123,000 anti-drug operations resulted in 5,281 deaths, representing just 3% of all operations – a figure the defense presented as proportionally minimal compared to the 176,021 arrests made.
The defense accused the prosecution of selective use of evidence, highlighting that only 20 of the former President’s speeches were cited to suggest criminal intent, while 35 others – those instructing police to adhere to the law – were deliberately ignored. This, they argued, demonstrated a manipulation of the record.
Claims that the former President used “self-defense” as a pretext for extrajudicial killings were dismissed as “complete supposition.” Kaufman characterized the former President’s often blunt and direct speaking style as simply that – a characteristic of his personality, not evidence of a deliberate criminal conspiracy.
The defense also challenged the prosecution’s definition of the targeted population, arguing the assertion that the former President launched an attack on the entire Philippine population was “bizarre.” They pointed to inconsistencies in the theory that the campaign specifically targeted suspected criminals.
Regarding allegations stemming from the former President’s time as Davao City mayor, the defense argued that nine alleged killings were “hardly widespread.” They further contested claims of mass graves at the Laud Quarry, stating no bodies had been discovered to substantiate the prosecution’s claim of 1,500 to 2,000 victims buried there.
Ultimately, Kaufman implored the court to consider the lack of substantial evidence. He argued the former President should not face prolonged detention based solely on the prosecution’s inability to establish credible grounds for believing he committed the charges leveled against him.
