Drug war 'ground zero' cited in ICC cases vs Rody

One of the incidents cited by the prosecution in charging former president Rodrigo Duterte with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) was the "one-time, big-time" (OTBT) police operation in Caloocan, considered the "ground zero" of the bloody drug war.

- EJ MACABABBAD

That particular operation, conducted in 2017, is listed as Incident 20 under Count 5, wherein prosecutors allege that murders were committed by "Philippine law enforcement during Duterte's presidency" against "low-level criminals, although some were not criminals at all." The details of the incident are redacted in the file titled "Public redacted version of 'Prosecution's urgent application under Article 58 for a warrant of arrest against Rodrigo Roa Duterte,' 10 February 2025," published on the ICC's website on March 13.

Of the 17 other incidents listed under Count 5, 15 occurred in Bulacan, while two took place in Manila.

The Philippine National Police (PNP)'s OTBT operations became prevalent at the height of Duterte's drug war during the early years of his presidency.