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Rodrigo Duterte
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Duterte’s war on drugs: ICC sees ‘reasonable basis’ for crime against humanity probe in Philippines

  • The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is deciding whether to investigate the Philippine president’s war on drugs
  • Rights groups say thousands of people have lost their lives in extrajudicial killings perpetrated by police and government forces

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at a press conference in 2018 at which he denounced the International Criminal Court’s interest in his war on drugs. Photo: AFP
Alan Robles
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said on Tuesday there was “reasonable basis to believe” that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, in which thousands of people have died, was responsible for crimes against humanity.
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The office of ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said it would decide by the first half of next year whether to open an investigation, which could potentially lead to charges and a trial of Duterte and other Philippine officials in The Hague, Netherlands.

While Duterte enjoys immunity from any suit filed in the Philippines, he would have no such immunity from the ICC.

However, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction over the Philippines because the country had withdrawn from it. Roque, a law professor, said the ICC’s effort would be a waste of money and time. “It’s up to them to do what they want but we don’t recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

Human rights activists have long maintained that Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed the lives of thousands in extrajudicial killings by police and government forces.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates more than 8,600 people have died, while the Philippine Commission on Human Rights believes the number could be as high as 27,000.

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