ICC releases lesser redacted charges vs Duterte over drug war killings

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made public a lesser redacted version of the “Document Containing the Charges” against former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, detailing allegations of crimes against humanity linked to killings during his tenure as Davao City mayor and later as President of the Philippines.

Dated 13 February 2026 and issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I, the document formally charges Duterte under Article 7 of the Rome Statute in connection with murders and attempted murders allegedly committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

According to the prosecution, Duterte is being held individually criminally responsible under various modes of liability, including indirect co-perpetration, ordering and/or inducing, and aiding and abetting.

The charges are divided into three counts.

Count 1 covers alleged murders in or around Davao City during Duterte’s mayoral period, involving 19 victims between 2013 and around June 2016.

Count 2 pertains to the alleged murder of 14 “high-value targets” in locations across the Philippines during the early years of Duterte’s presidency, between around July 2016 and July 2017.

Count 3 involves 43 alleged murders and two attempted murders carried out in barangay clearance operations nationwide between around July 2016 and September 2018.

The prosecution alleges that the acts formed part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population” and were carried out pursuant to a policy to “neutralize” alleged criminals, particularly those linked to illegal drugs.

The document states that while the charges specify 76 murders and two attempted murders, the actual scale of killings during the charged period was “significantly greater.”

The filing was signed by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang and dated at The Hague, the Netherlands.