Transformative Justice against War on Drugs
- Project in the Philippines -

Background

 

During the so-called “war on drugs” conducted while Rodrigo Duterte served first as mayor of Davao City and later as President of the Philippines, he is alleged to be responsibleto a campaign in which thousands of suspected drug users and dealers were unlawfully killed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.

According to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, the policy encouraged or tolerated the use of lethal force by police officers and associated actors, including alleged death squads, resulting in extrajudicial killings carried out without judicial process or effective investigation. The prosecution argues that Duterte, in his capacity as a political leader, played a central role by promoting and enabling the operations through public statements, policy direction, and institutional support, thereby bearing individual criminal responsibility for murder as a crime against humanity.

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Judicial Conditions

The ICC is pursuing a case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his "war on drugs" campaign between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019.

The ICC retains jurisdiction over this period despite the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which took effect on March 17, 2019.

On February 10, 2025, the ICC Prosecutor applied for a warrant of arrest for Duterte as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator of:

• Murder as a crime against humanity

• Torture as a crime against humanity

• Rape as a crime against humanity

The warrant was issued and Duterte was arrested in Manila in a tense confrontation where he refused fingerprinting and stated "you have to kill me to bring me to The Hague." His defense team, led by Nicholas Kaufman with Dov Jacobs as Associate Counsel, has filed a jurisdictional challenge questioning whether the ICC can exercise "dormant jurisdiction" after the Philippines' withdrawal. They have also requested interim release.

Victim participation

Victim participation has been substantial, with consultations conducted between 2021-2023 involving:

• Approximately 1,530 individual victims and 1,050 families (2021)

• 293 individuals and 366 families (2022)

• 350 individual victims and 165 families (2023)

Key civil society partners involved include the Philippine Coalition for the ICC (PCICC), Duterte Panagutin Campaign Network, NUPL-NCR, Rise Up for Life and for Rights, and various human rights organizations. The case represents the first major ICC prosecution related to Duterte's controversial drug war, which resulted in thousands of deaths.

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The arrest

• Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on 11 March 2025 after arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila from Hong Kong, following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the anti-drug campaign carried out during his presidency. The warrant, issued by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I and transmitted allegedly through INTERPOL channels, was executed by Philippine law-enforcement authorities, who informed Duterte of the charges and placed him into custody immediately upon disembarking from the aircraft.

• He was then transferred to Villamor Air Base for temporary detention while legal and logistical arrangements were finalized.

• Later the same day, Philippine authorities surrendered him to the ICC, and he was flown to The Hague, where he entered ICC custody and subsequently appeared before the Court for his initial hearing.

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Next steps

Schedules for Confirmation of Charges

• After his transfer to the custody of the International Criminal Court, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s defence team submitted an application for interim release, arguing that his age, health condition, and humanitarian considerations justified temporary release to a third country pending further proceedings. The prosecution and victims’ representatives opposed the request, raising concerns about potential flight risk and the need to ensure the integrity of the judicial process, and the matter remained under judicial consideration while pre-trial proceedings continued.

• In parallel, the case moved into the confirmation of charges phase, during which the Pre-Trial Chamber scheduled hearings to determine whether there were substantial grounds to believe that Duterte committed the crimes alleged by the Prosecutor. The confirmation hearing, originally planned for late 2025 and later adjusted into early 2026, serves as a filtering stage in ICC procedure, where judges assess whether the evidence is sufficient to send the case to trial, without yet making any determination of guilt or innocence.

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ICC Official page about the case

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