A rally for victims of President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines, 28 March 2025.

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April 4, 2025

Ex-Philippine president Duterte appears at ICC hearing for crimes against humanity

in Las Piñas City, The Philippines

16-year-old Samantha De Mesa reports on Duterte’s arrest on killings linked to the ‘war on drugs’

On 11 March, former Philippine president Rodrigo R. Duterte was arrested in the Philippines following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for crimes against humanity of murder, torture and rape. These crimes relate to his notorious “war on drugs” as president from 2016 to 2022, which has been linked to 30,000 deaths.

Ex-president Duterte under scrutiny for Philippine war on drugs

By Samantha De Mesa

He was immediately transported to the Hague and on 14 March appeared at an initial ICC hearing via video link from a detention centre. The 79-year-old, wearing a blue suit and tie, was describedas “sounding frail”.

Duterte’s lawyer Salvador Medialdea claimed that his arrest was “pure and simple kidnapping” and also that his client was able to take part in proceedings due to “debilitating medical issues”.

Philippine President Ferdinand ‘BongBong’ Marcos, Jr. affirmedin a palace briefing on the night of 11 March that Duterte’s arrest was part of the Philippines’ commitment to Interpol. “This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is part of the community of nations,” he said.

The ICC’s investigation relates to Duterte’s involvement in extrajudicial killings by the notorious Davao Death Squad in Davao City, where he was mayor for 20 years, and the subsequent “war on drugs” implemented when he was president.

According to a 2023 study by the University of the Philippines-Diliman, deaths associated with the campaign could be as high as 30,000.

As of now, the ICC is set to investigate Duterte as an “indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.”

At the ICC hearing on 14 March, the presiding Judge Iulia Motoc set the pre-trial hearing for 23 September. This will decide whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to send the case to trial. British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman will serve as Duterte’s lead counsel for the subsequent ICC hearings.

The legal proceedings will take months or even years. If found guilty, Duterte could face up to 30 years or even life in prison.

Written by:

Samantha De Mesa

The Harbinger Prize 2024 (International Affairs)

Writer

Cavite, Philippines

Born in 2009 in Cavite, Philippines, Samantha now studies in Manila. She is interested in literary and performance arts and plans to study medical anthropology. She joined the magazine having won the International Affairs category of the Harbinger Prize 2024.

After successfully completing the Essential Journalism course, Samantha became a writer for Harbingers’ Magazine starting in March 2025.

In her free time, Samantha enjoys writing proses and poetries. She won Notable Submission Award in 2021 Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest Poetry & Spoken Word Junior Category and is one of the runner-ups in the 2022 Immerse Education Essay Competition.

Samantha speaks Filipino and English.

Edited by:

Charlotte Wejchert

Human Rights Section Editor 2025

Monaco

human rights