May nilinaw ni Atty. Nicholas Kaufman hinggil sa paggamit noon ng terminong “high-value target” sa kasagsagan ng operasyon kontra droga sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.
Sa huling araw ng confirmation of charges hearing nitong Biyernes, Pebrero 27, 2026, iginiit niyang wala raw koneksyon sa konteksto ng patayan ang pagbansag sa isang indibidwal bilang high value target.
“The term high-value targets appears throughout the prosecution's brief as though it is evidence of a coordinated plan to eliminate targets. With respect that inference cannot be sustained,” ani Kaufman.
Paglilinaw pa niya, hindi rin daw ito nangangahulugan ng isang kriminal na plano upang pabagsakin ang isang high-value target sa kasagsagan ng kampanya kontra droga ni dating Pangulong Duterte, bagkus ay pawang “classification,” lamang.
“The existence of a prioritization category within a law enforcement campaign does not establish a criminal plan. HVT was an operational classification used by law enforcement... HVT is not a code for an instruction to kill or a witch hunt,” anang abogado.
ICC prosecutor, kinuwestiyon pagiging inosente ni Duterte
Matatandaang kabilang sa charges sa count 2 laban kay dating Pangulong Duterte ang pagpatay umano sa tinatayang 14 kataong high-value targets sa kasagsagan ng drug war mula Hulyo 2016 hanggang Hulyo 2017.
Kabilang sa mga itinuturing na high-value individuals na napatay noong panahon ni dating pangulong Duterte ay sina dating Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa at Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parajinog.
Kamakailan lang nang ipinakita ng trial lawyer ng ICC ang ilang video clip ng mga talumpati ni dating PangulongDuterte sa harap ng ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I.
“‘Wherever you go, I will be waiting for you, even if I’m no longer President, as long as I have a gun.’ Indeed, Mr. Duterte did not need to wait long. On the 5th of November 2016, Mayor Espinosa was murdered,” ani Atty. Edward Jeremy habang sinisipi ang pahayag ni Duterte.
“That’s charged incident 13. Then on the 30th of July 2017, Mayor Parajinog, together with a number of others were also murdered. That’s charged incident 14,” dagdag pa niya.
