A three-judge panel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte can be tried on charges of crimes against humanity related to his anti-drug campaign.
The charges allege Duterte oversaw a deadly crackdown while he served as mayor of Davao and later as president from 2016 to 2022. The Hague-based court said there were “substantial grounds” to support accusations that Duterte was responsible for dozens of killings and that the evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial; no date has yet been set.
The judges found that Duterte “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy aimed at “neutralizing” alleged criminals. Human rights organizations estimate roughly 30,000 people were killed during his six years in office, while national police figures put the number at about 6,000. Many suspects are reported to have been summarily executed without trial.
Amnesty International said police “followed unverified lists of people allegedly using or selling drugs, stormed into their homes and shot dead unarmed people, including those who posed no risk nor resisted the arrest.” Prosecutors allege police and vigilante squads carried out killings at Duterte’s behest, sometimes motivated by payments or by fears of becoming targets themselves.
Ritz Lee Santos, director for Amnesty International Philippines, called the ICC’s confirmation of charges a “historic moment for victims and international justice.”
Duterte, 81, denies the allegations. He was arrested in the Philippines in March 2025 and transferred to The Hague. He has waived his right to be present at hearings. Appeals judges this week rejected a defense request to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds after the Philippines withdrew from the ICC, and previous attempts by his team to block the trial on health grounds have also failed after earlier hearings were postponed for medical reasons.
Duterte’s lead defense lawyer, Nick Kaufman, told The Associated Press the ICC decision “is based on the uncorroborated statements of vicious self-confessed murderers acting as cooperating witnesses.”
Edited by: Karl Sexton