Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday that he will not hand over his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court, which is investigating his deadly crackdown on drug trafficking in the archipelago.
“We do not recognize the order they will send us. No,” President Marcos said during a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
Former President Duterte's Murderous Operations
Thousands of people have been killed in the war on drugs launched by former President Duterte in 2016 and which continues under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, which may constitute crimes against humanity according to the ICC. More than 6,000 people have been killed in anti-drug operations under Duterte, according to official data released by the Philippines.
ICC prosecutors estimate that the death toll is between 12,000 and 30,000. Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 after the tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands, began to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed during its war on drugs. Ferdinand Marcos has repeatedly ruled out rejoining the ICC.
The court launched a formal investigation into Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown in September 2021, before suspending it two months later when Philippine authorities announced they would themselves investigate alleged crimes committed during the anti-drug campaign. which left thousands dead attributed to the police, hired killers or self-defense groups.
The ICC Prosecutor General then requested the reopening of the investigation in June 2022, and the Court's judges gave the green light in late January 2023 - a decision that Manila unsuccessfully challenged on appeal shortly after.