Rodrigo Duterte. | Photo from the House of Representatives media bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte has challenged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately begin its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration’s anti-drug campaign, saying he might die before the probe even begins.
During a House quad committee hearing on Wednesday, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas asked Duterte if he would cooperate with the investigation, including that of the ICC. In response, Duterte said the ICC is welcome to start its probe as soon as tomorrow (Thursday).
“ICC, Ma’am? I am asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow; this issue has been left hanging for so many years,” Duterte told Brosas.
READ: Duterte on drug war: ‘I and I alone take full legal responsibility’
“Ang tagal, Ma’am, baka mamatay na ako hindi na nila ako ma-imbestiga. So I’m asking the ICC through you na magpunta na sila dito bukas, umpisahan na nila investigation,” he added.
Jail sentence
According to Duterte, he will accept a jail sentence if he is found guilty.
READ: Duterte defends drug war: I did what I had to do to protect the people
“And if I am found guilty I will go to prison and rot there for all time,” Duterte said.
Duterte’s name has been mentioned several times in the quad committee hearings, due to the drug war he implemented while he was president. At the ICC, several cases for the crime against humanity of mass murder were filed against Duterte and his police officials.
READ: Former President Duterte to Senate: I have a death squad
Officially, there are over 6,500 drug suspects who died during police operations while Duterte was in office from July 2016 to June 2022. However, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said the Office of the President (OP) under Duterte listed 20,322 drug war-related deaths among its accomplishments in a 2017 report.
Diokno explained that the 20,322 drug-war-related deaths from July 1, 2016, to November 27, 2017, were mentioned in a Supreme Court en banc resolution as part of the OP year-end report.
Drug war
Recently, former police officials, including retired Colonel Royina Garma, revealed details of a rewards system implemented in the drug war.
According to Garma, Duterte called her in 2016 to discuss creating a task force that would implement the so-called “Davao template” on a nationwide scale. Garma explained that the Davao template involved cash rewards ranging from P20,000 to P1 million for police officers who killed drug suspects.
Garma also claimed that the existence of the Davao Death Squad — a team that former president Duterte supposedly crafted while he was Davao City mayor — was common knowledge among police officers in the area.
At a Senate hearing last October 28, Duterte said he created a seven-man hit squad made up of gangsters when he was Davao City mayor, but eventually retracted it when senators asked for a clarification.