Overview
- In opening statements, prosecutors said Rodrigo Duterte authorised murders, created and funded death squads, and incentivised killings, adding that many victims were children.
- On the second day, prosecutors alleged he personally compiled “death lists” and publicly named supposed drug suspects who were later killed, playing clips of him boasting about extrajudicial killings.
- The proceedings are a four-day confirmation-of-charges hearing, not a trial, after which judges will rule on the evidence, with a separate defence appeal on ICC jurisdiction still pending.
- Duterte waived his right to attend and remains in ICC detention in The Hague after judges found him fit to participate; he has called the accusations an “outrageous lie.”
- The charging document cites at least 76 murders across three counts—19 in Davao (2013–2016), 14 “high value target” killings (2016–2017), and 43 during “clearance” operations (2016–2018)—against a broader death toll estimated from about 6,000 to as high as 30,000.