Internal Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have formally charged former president Rodrigo Duterte with three counts of murder for crimes against humanity over his role as “indirect co-perpetrator” in the drug war killings enforced under his presidency and his term as Davao City mayor. 

The charge sheet, dated 4 September, but only made public late Monday, contains three counts of murder and attempted murder against the 80-year-old Duterte, who has been held in custody by the ICC in The Hague since his arrest on 11 March in Manila.

Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said Duterte is criminally responsible in the so-called “common plan,” which was carried out by his co-perpetrators, including members of the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Corrections.

The “common plan” refers to Duterte’s anti-drug policies, which allegedly involved systematic killings, torture, and other crimes to “neutralize” suspected drug offenders.

The scheme was originally developed during Duterte's tenure as mayor of Davao and expanded nationwide when he won the presidency in 2016. 

The network also includes non-police assets and hitmen tasked with operating similarly to the Davao Death Squad (DDS) in carrying out the killings under the common plan. The period covers November 2011 to December 2019. 

The DDS is a notorious group formerly comprised of Davao-based police, including Senator Ronald de la Rosa, as previously claimed by Duterte. 

The names of De la Rosa and retired police chief Oscar Albayalde are being linked as co-perpetrators of Duterte, having spearheaded the brutal drug war as his chief of police. 

De la Rosa was Duterte's PNP chief from 2016 to mid-2018 and was succeeded by Albayalde, who allegedly continued the drug war implementation, which saw over 6,000 deaths based on the government’s data.

The figure only covered Duterte's tenure as president, but rights watchdogs estimate that the actual death toll could exceed 30,000, most of them from low-income communities.

The three counts of murder filed by the ICC prosecutors only account for 78 murders, though the team said the figure does not represent the full extent during the said period, as the number is significantly greater given the widespread nature of the attack.

“The attack was widespread. It was carried out on a large scale and frequent basis, victimising a significant number of civilians over a broad geographic area and a prolonged period of time,” the filing dated 22 September read. 

Of the 78, 14 were “high-value targets” while 45 relate to the murders and attempted murders in barangay operations across the Philippines under Duterte’s watch as president. 

The 19, meanwhile, were killed under his term as Davao City mayor. 

The filing states that police who killed a “high-value target” received a monetary reward ranging from P50,000 to P1 million, depending on the prominence of the target. 

In a separate heavily redacted filing dated 24 July, released only on Monday, Mandiaye Niang told the ICC that the prosecution's evidence is substantial enough to warrant the chamber’s approval of the three charges and send the case for trial.

Duterte was supposed to face the ICC judges on Tuesday, 23 September, for the confirmation of his charges, but it was postponed indefinitely following a petition by his lawyer to determine whether the octogenarian is still fit to stand trial.

The defense cited the former president’s poor health, such as memory loss, making him incapable of participating in the proceedings.

The prosecution strongly opposed the defense’s plea for a deferral, but ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled in favor of Duterte’s camp, emphasizing that the “postponement will be limited to the time strictly necessary to determine whether Mr. Duterte is fit to follow and participate in the pre-trial proceedings,” and all other hearings.