Duterte remains beloved in home province, where his dynasty is thriving

Six weeks ago, a van piled high with flowers pulled up at the International Criminal Court's (ICC) detention centre in The Hague. The court also received deliveries of birthday cards. Lots and lots of them.

- Sui-Lee Wee

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Six weeks ago, a van piled high with flowers pulled up at the International Criminal Court's (ICC) detention centre in The Hague. The court also received deliveries of birthday cards. Lots and lots of them.

They were all for the newest inmate, Mr Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, who turned 80 on March 28. The tributes were evidence of his enduring popularity there, though he is accused of crimes against humanity for ordering a brutal anti-drug campaign in which tens of thousands of people died.

"The place was inundated with flowers, and I brought some of the mail out because they didn't know what to do with it," Mr Nicholas Kaufman, Mr Duterte's lawyer, said in a telephone interview. He said he had left with three sacks of mail for Mr Duterte that the court was unable to vet. In the Philippines, thousands of people dressed in the green associated with Mr Duterte's political party flooded the streets of Davao City.