A Reckoning in The Hague: The International Criminal Court Formally Charges Rodrigo Duterte with Crimes Against Humanity
The 80-year-old former leader, who has been in ICC custody in the Netherlands since March, now faces the prospect of a trial that would scrutinize a state-sanctioned anti-drug operation that human rights organizations have long condemned as a campaign of extrajudicial killings. This indictment marks Duterte as the first Asian former head of state to be charged by the ICC, placing the Philippines squarely within the court’s focus alongside nations like Sudan and Libya.
The Charges: A Pattern of Murder from Davao to Manila
The ICC’s charge sheet, dated July 2024 but made public only this week following procedural approvals, outlines three distinct counts of murder as a crime against humanity. The charges are meticulously structured to demonstrate a consistent pattern of alleged criminality that began during Duterte’s tenure as Mayor of Davao City and escalated dramatically after he assumed the presidency in 2016.
The "Davao Death Squad" Precedent (2013-2016)
The first charge reaches back to Duterte’s time as the long-standing mayor of Davao City, where he earned the nickname "The Punisher" for his iron-fisted approach to crime. Prosecutors allege that between 2013 and 2016, Duterte was an "indirect co-perpetrator" in the murders of 19 individuals. These killings are linked to the notorious "Davao Death Squad," a shadowy group alleged to be composed of police and vigilantes who carried out extrajudicial executions of alleged criminals, including drug suspects. The ICC prosecution argues that this period served as a "testing ground" for the methods that would later be deployed on a national scale.
The "High-Value Target" Assassinations (2016-2022)
The second charge relates to Duterte’s presidency, specifically targeting the killings of 14 individuals classified by authorities as "high-value targets" in the drug trade. These operations, which often involved heavily armed police raiding homes in the dead of night, were frequently reported in the media as shootouts where the suspects allegedly resisted arrest. However, human rights investigators and families of the victims have consistently contested these accounts, claiming the victims were executed summarily. The charge sheet suggests these high-profile killings were intended to signal the ruthlessness and reach of the government’s campaign.
The "Village Clearance" Operations (2016-2022)
The third and most sweeping charge involves the murder and attempted murder of 45 people during what were known as "Oplan Tokhang" (Operation Knock and Plead) and "village clearance operations." These were the most visible and terrifying aspects of the war on drugs, where police units would descend on impoverished urban neighborhoods, often with pre-prepared "watch lists" of alleged drug users and pushers. The ICC prosecutors allege that these operations were not legitimate law enforcement actions but were, in fact, systematic raids designed to "neutralize" individuals through murder. The charge of "attempted murder" is significant, as it acknowledges the survivors and those who lived in constant fear during this period.
In a key passage, the charge sheet states that Duterte and his alleged 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." This language is crucial, as it frames the killings not as isolated incidents or acts of self-defense by police, but as the execution of a premeditated, state-level policy.
The Duterte administration officially acknowledged that over 6,000 people were killed in police operations during the war on drugs. However, this figure is widely disputed. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with investigations by international media outlets, estimate the true death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000. They argue that the official count excludes thousands of victims of unexplained, vigilante-style killings—individuals found dead in alleyways, dumped on roadsides, or wrapped in packing tape with crude signs labeling them as drug dealers. Many believe these vigilante killings were carried out by state-linked actors to create plausible deniability.
Throughout his presidency and since, Duterte remained utterly unapologetic. He frequently used violent and dehumanizing rhetoric, publicly encouraging security forces to shoot to kill and even joking that he would be happy to personally slaughter millions of addicts. His justification was unwavering: the campaign was necessary to rid the country of narcotics and street crime, a message that resonated with a significant portion of the population weary of crime and disorder.
Duterte’s arrival in The Hague was not the result of a simple arrest. It followed years of complex legal maneuvering. The Philippines, under Duterte, officially withdrew from the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, in 2019, a move seen as a direct attempt to shield himself from prosecution. However, the ICC maintains jurisdiction over crimes alleged to have occurred during the period when the country was still a member state, up until its withdrawal took effect in 2019.
The current political landscape in the Philippines adds another layer of complexity. Duterte’s successor, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has publicly clashed with the powerful Duterte family. While Marcos has previously stated he would not cooperate with the ICC, citing national sovereignty and a functioning judicial system, the fact that Duterte is already in ICC custody suggests that behind-the-scenes dynamics, possibly involving intelligence sharing or the withdrawal of diplomatic protection, may have played a role. Duterte’s supporters have been quick to label the indictment a political witch-hunt orchestrated by Marcos.
Adding to the surreal nature of the situation, Duterte was re-elected as Mayor of Davao City in the May 2024 elections, despite already being in detention in the Netherlands. His son, Sebastian Duterte, who had been serving as mayor, continues to act as the city's chief executive in his father's absence.
Health, Defense, and the Path Forward
Duterte’s legal team has already signaled its primary defense strategy, filing a motion claiming the former president is unfit to stand trial due to poor health. Duterte has been known to suffer from a number of ailments, and his frequent absences from public events in his final years in office were attributed to health reasons. The ICC will now have to convene medical experts to assess his fitness, a process that could significantly delay proceedings.
The ICC, while a symbol of global justice, operates with significant limitations. It has no police force of its own and relies entirely on the cooperation of member states to arrest and transfer suspects. The custody of a figure as high-profile as Duterte is a major, albeit rare, success for the court, which often sees its arrest warrants go unenforced for years.
For the thousands of families of the victims of the war on drugs, the unsealing of these charges is a moment of profound, if cautious, validation. After years of fear, impunity, and a domestic justice system they view as complicit, the ICC’s action represents the first tangible step toward official accountability for the bloodshed that engulfed their communities. The road to a potential conviction remains long and fraught with legal and political challenges, but for the first time, Rodrigo Duterte is being forced to answer, formally and before a court of law, for the devastating human cost of his war.