Over fifty percent of Filipinos want the Philippines to rejoin the International Criminal Court while backing up the plans to look into claims of crimes against humanity that happened under the previous administration, a survey by OCTA Research showed on Sunday.

The latest survey, conducted from 10 to 14 December, showed that 55 percent of adult Filipinos want the government to cooperate with the ICC in its investigation of the Duterte administration's fight against illegal drugs.

On the other hand, 45 percent are against helping the investigation of the court in The Hague.

"Across different major areas, the percentage of adult Filipinos who favor this idea ranges from 42 percent to 65 percent. The highest support is in Balance Luzon (65 percent), while the lowest is in Mindanao (42 percent)," the private pollster said.

Bicol region had the highest approval for cooperation with 79 percent. In contrast, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown – Davao region – had the lowest support with only 6 percent.

The polling firm also found that adult Filipinos who lived in rural areas (57 percent) were slightly more in favor of the government working with the ICC on its investigation than adult Filipinos who lived in urban areas (54 percent).

The latest data also showed that 59 percent of adult Filipinos want the government to return to the ICC, while 41 percent oppose the idea.

The Philippines finally left the ICC in 2019, a year after Duterte said the country would leave the court.

The ICC was created in 2002 to look into the worst crimes in the world. It is a "court of last resort" that only steps in and has power when countries don't want to or can't prosecute criminals.

The court said that the Philippines' plans to look into drug war killings again did not "amount to tangible, concrete, and progressive investigative steps" when it permitted the investigation in January 2023.

According to government records, more than 6,000 people have died in Duterte's "war on drugs." But human rights groups say the real number of deaths could be as high as 30,000.

The poll conducted the survey last December through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for regional breakdowns.