Manila, Philippines — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should ‘hurry up’ with its probe of his war on drugs, remaining firm in his defense of the brutal campaign as he said the investigation should start immediately.
“I’m asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow,” Duterte said in a congressional inquiry on his war on drugs.
“If I am found guilty, I will go to prison.”
According to police data, more than 6,200 people died in anti-drug operations under Duterte’s presidency, during which police typically said they had killed suspects in self-defense.
Human rights groups believe the real toll to be far greater, with thousands more users and small-time peddlers killed in mysterious circumstances by unknown assailants.
“I assume full responsibility for whatever happened in the actions taken by law enforcement agencies of this country to… stop the serious problem of drugs affecting our people,” said Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022.
The ICC last year cleared the way for an investigation into the several thousand deaths and other suspected rights abuses.
The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019. Appeals judges at the ICC subsequently ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was an ICC member.
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