Former Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has appeared in person for the first time at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he is charged with crimes against humanity for killings during his “war on drugs”.
Prosecutors accuse Duterte — who was arrested and transferred to The Hague-based court in March 2025 — of creating, funding and arming death squads that targeted drug users and dealers. Duterte denies the charges, saying he only ordered police to act in self-defense as part of his anti-drug offensive.
The charges cover Duterte’s alleged role in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018, when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao, and later as president from 2016 to 2022.
“Decades of murdering his own people, murdering the children of the Philippines, and he claims that he did it all for his country. He doesn’t deny it,” said Julian Nicholls, summing up for the prosecution after the hearings.
Philippine police say 6,200 suspects were killed in anti-drug operations, while rights groups and ICC prosecutors put the overall toll as high as 30,000.
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