Previous President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, has been transported to the Hague shortly after being apprehended in Manila on Tuesday.
The ICC warrant, reviewed by Reuters, accuses Duterte of being criminally responsible for the death of at least 43 individuals between 2011 and 2019 as part of his anti-drug campaign while serving as mayor of Davao City and later as president from 2016 to 2022.
Duterte requested to be tried in a Philippine court. In custody in Manila, he told police officers, “If I have committed a wrongdoing, prosecute me in the courts of the Philippines.”
Below are details about Duterte’s anti-drug campaign and the responses of victims’ families.
What was Duterte’s ‘anti-drug campaign’?
Rodrigo Duterte earned the nickname “the punisher” during his tenure as mayor of Davao for over 20 years, with intermittent service. During his time as mayor, over 1,000 individuals, including suspected drug users and dealers, were killed. Human rights organizations have accused Duterte of operating a “death squad” while mayor, a position he held until the end of his last term in 2016.
His promise to launch a nationwide crackdown on drug syndicates was a key feature of his successful presidential campaign in 2016.
Shortly after assuming office on June 30, 2016, Duterte pledged to address the country’s illegal drug problem within six months. “I do not care about human rights, believe me,” he later stated.
He also guaranteed soldiers and police officers immunity from prosecution for deaths that occurred in the line of duty.
On July 1, 2016, the first full day of Duterte’s presidency, police conducted anti-drug operations nationwide, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 individuals and marking the beginning of a violent campaign over the next six years that claimed the lives of around 7,000 individuals, including women and children.
By December 2016, more than 5,000 individuals had been killed throughout the country, with 2,041 drug suspects killed in police operations, according to Al Jazeera data. The remaining victims were killed by unknown assailants, some of whom were later revealed to be police officers.
In the initial months of Duterte’s presidency, many victims were discovered bound, their bodies dumped in polluted rivers, garbage sites, and grasslands.
By the end of his term in 2022, human rights activists and the ICC prosecutor estimated that around 30,000 individuals had been killed by police and unidentified perpetrators. However, the police only reported 7,000 deaths from police operations, excluding those killed by unknown assailants.
What was the public’s reaction to the anti-drug campaign?
Throughout his presidency, Duterte enjoyed a high level of support from the public, enabling him to advance his harsh anti-drug campaign agenda.
His approval rating stood at 86 percent shortly after taking office in 2016. By the time he left office in 2022, his approval rating had dropped to 73 percent, according to a Pulse Asia survey.
At every instance, Duterte’s statements regarding his brutal anti-drug campaign were met with enthusiasm by his followers. In 2017, during a national assembly of city and provincial legislators, there was applause when he remarked that he could do nothing if impoverished individuals were killed in his anti-drug campaign. He also criticized the media for portraying victims as innocent and saints.
An Amnesty International report from 2017 revealed that a majority of the individuals killed were living below the poverty line. The report also indicated that police officers admitted to receiving cash rewards ranging from $150 to $300 for each drug suspect they killed, creating an “incentive to kill.”
Surviving Duterte’s anti-drug campaign
While many victims of the drug war met tragic ends, a few managed to survive and share their experiences of police executions and abuse.
In September 2016, Francisco Santiago Jr recounted to Al Jazeera how he and another individual were detained by police in Manila, taken to a dark alley, and shot multiple times.
Santiago’s companion, George Huggins, was killed instantly. Santiago, however, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. He got up when journalists arrived at the scene, and his rescue was captured on camera. His testimony to the media was later used as evidence in the ICC’s complaint.
A similar incident occurred in 2018 to Roger Herrero. The young father of four from Quezon Province was shot at close range by police, causing severe jaw injuries. Police accused him of robbery and attempting to escape on a motorcycle, although Herrero’s wife later informed photojournalist Ezra Acayan that he did not even know how to ride a motorcycle. Herrero also feigned death to survive, only managing to ask for help after the police departed.
In another case in 2017, the Commission on Human Rights discovered a hidden cell inside a police station in Manila where 12 detainees were cramped together. There was no record of their arrest, and the police failed to inform their families or lawyers of their disappearance. In 2021, the government dismissed the complaint against the police officers accused of illegal detention.
Children not spared
As of June 2020, four years into Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, an estimated 129 children had been killed by police or allied attackers, according to a Reuters report citing an activist group.
One of the youngest victims was three-year-old Myca Ulpina, who was shot during a 2019 raid targeting her father in Rizal Province near Metro Manila. Police alleged that the child was used as a “shield” during the operation.
On Negros Island in central Philippines, four-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon was also killed when police fired at her and her father while they were on a motorbike. Police claimed her father was a drug dealer.
One of the most well-known cases was the killing of Kian delos Santos, shot by police in an alley near his home in 2017. Witnesses reported that the 17-year-old pleaded with the police to let him go as he had exams the next day. Police claimed he was armed, but CCTV footage showed officers dragging the unarmed teenager moments before he was shot dead.
A few days later, police were accused of abducting two teenagers in another Manila suburb. The police alleged that the teenagers attempted to rob a taxi driver. During the ensuing pursuit, the older victim, Carl Arnaiz, was fatally shot.
What’s the reaction from families of victims and rights groups?
Llore Pasco, the mother of two young men killed in a supposed police operation, told Al Jazeera she experienced mixed emotions upon learning of Duterte’s arrest.
“I felt nervous and scared, but also filled with excitement,” she stated.
“I shed tears. Finally, after years of waiting, it’s happening. This is it,” she added.
She expressed that the ICC represents her last hope for justice, as she has little to no hope of obtaining justice in the Philippines.
Pasco’s sons, Crisanto and Juan Carlos, went missing from their neighborhood in May 2017. The family was shocked to learn the following day through television reports that the two had been killed and accused of robbery by the police.
Pasco believes her sons were victims of a police ambush. Her testimony has been included in the ICC’s filings in 2021.
Jane Lee, the wife of a victim of the drug war, remarked that Duterte’s arrest highlights the inequality within the Philippine justice system.
“Duterte is only now being arrested, but our family members were executed without delay,” Lee stated. “I want to see Duterte behind bars.”
Did the Philippines withdraw from the ICC?
Duterte announced the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC just a month after the court’s February 2018 decision to conduct a preliminary investigation into the deaths. The withdrawal took effect in March 2019.
Despite the withdrawal, the ICC retains jurisdiction over crimes committed during the Philippines’ membership period.
The ICC investigation was temporarily halted in 2021 but resumed two years later after the court expressed dissatisfaction with the Philippines’ efforts to deliver justice.
The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr initially stated it would not cooperate with the ICC, but later in 2024, announced it would comply with any arrest warrants. Analysts attribute Marcos Jr’s change in stance to his strained relationship with Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.
