Photo credit: BBC
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
SBS News reports that Duterte(80) is accused of being criminally responsible for dozens of murders that allegedly took place as part of his so-called war on drugs. Thousands of small-time drug dealers, users and others were killed without trial in the period.
Duterte is the first Asian former head of state to be indicted by the ICC.
ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said Duterte was an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings, which the court alleges were carried out by others, including police.
A redacted version of the ICC’s charge sheet, dated July 4, was only made public on Tuesday.
The first count relates to his alleged indirect co-perpetration in the murders of 19 people between 2013 and 2016 when he was mayor of Davao City. He tested his war on drugs while ruling there. He later implemented it nationwide during his presidency, from 2016 to 2022.
In the document, it is alleged that during the period when he was mayor, Duterte and unnamed accomplices “used police from Davao City and nom-police hitmen … to kill alleged criminals”.
The other two counts relate to the murders of 57 people. Fourteen of them were classified by the ICC as “high-value targets,” some of whom appeared on a list that offered financial reward to police officers.
Forty-three murders were allegedly committed during “clearance” operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.
The 57 murders took place from the start of Duterte’s presidency in 2016 until 2019, when he withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute that governs the ICC.
The document alleges that, “Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralise’ alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes including murder .”
He was president until 2022 and was re-elected mayor of Davos City in May 2025.
The ICC ordered Duterte’s arrest in March, accusing him of murder as a crime against humanity in the context of his war on drugs, which killed some 6,000 people, according to police. However, NGOs estimate the figure to be around 30,000.
He surrendered to the ICC on 12 March and appeared before the judges in The Hague for the first time two days later.
His supporters allege the ICC is being used as a political tool by the Philippines’ current President, Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos had publicly fallen out with the powerful Duterte family.
The ICC has no power to arrest anyone without the cooperation of the countries where they reside. Marcos had previously dismissed the idea of cooperating with the ICC..
