The International Criminal Court (ICC) has approved a request from prosecutors to include seven additional incidents in the case of crimes against humanity against former President Rodrigo Duterte. This decision was announced by ICC Trial Chamber III on October 9, while another incident was dismissed due to it being outside the designated time period of the case.
With this ruling, the total number of incidents under consideration has risen to 56. The initial 49 incidents confirmed in April involved 76 killings and two attempted murders.
Defense attorneys expressed concerns, stating that it was unclear what specific incidents Duterte would need to respond to, as the prosecutors have indicated that the listed cases are merely examples.
Duterte faces three murder charges categorized as crimes against humanity. The first set of charges pertains to killings in Davao City from 2013 to June 2016; the second involves alleged killings of 'high-value targets' between July 2016 and July 2017; and the third relates to the deaths of suspected drug offenders under the Oplan Tokhang initiative from July 2016 to September 2018.
According to police records, over 6,000 individuals have reportedly died in the drug war, but estimates suggest that total fatalities might be as high as 30,000, including those presumed to be victims of vigilante killings.