KARAPATAN on Duterte’s waiver: an act of a cowardly tyrant
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
February 19, 2026
Reference: Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general, 09173162831
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
KARAPATAN on Duterte’s waiver: an act of a cowardly tyrant
KARAPATAN human rights alliance assailed former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s waiver of his right to attend the confirmation of charges hearing set for September 23, 2026 at the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling his decision “the act of a cowardly tyrant.”
Said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay, “Duterte was his usual cocky self in declaring that he does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction, but backpedalled when he claimed that he never oversaw a policy of extrajudicial killings.”
“In one fell swoop, he denies all his ‘kill-kill-kill’ rhetoric and cravenly refuses to face accountability for his actions by claiming cognitive deficits,” she added. “For all his hubris, Duterte, in the end, cowers like all defeated tyrants in the face of those who seek justice.”
“We in the human rights community along with the victims of Duterte’s bloody drug war will not be deterred by his latest antics,” said Palabay. “He has amply shown that he is his same old arrogant and murderous self, completely unrepentant of his crimes. “He must be held accountable and be meted justice,” she concluded.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. It was established in 1995.