(ANSA) - MANILA, June 15 - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "will never collaborate" with the investigation of the International Criminal Court into the murders during the drug war in the country. His spokesman announced today, branding the investigation as "legally wrong". CPI prosecutor Fatou Bensouda yesterday asked for authorization to investigate allegations against Philippine police of killing tens of thousands of civilians between 2016 and 2019.
Duterte was elected in 2016 after a campaign in which he promised to get rid of the country's drug problem by openly ordering the police to kill drug suspects if their lives were in danger. "The president will never cooperate until the end of his term on June 30, 2022," Harry Roque told reporters, noting that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in the Philippines which left it in 2019.
"We are compared to countries like the Darfur, areas where there is no government that works. It's not fair, "the president's spokesman said.
According to official figures, more than 6,000 people have been killed in over 200,000 drug operations conducted since July 2016. But human rights organizations believe that the death toll could be much higher.
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