Duterte to pay for his crimes

The three counts of violent crimes against humanity former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been charged with underscore the systemic impunities that shield brutal dictators from accountability for large-scale atrocities.

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The first former Asian head of state to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC)—established under the 1998 Rome Statute to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression—he has been serving an arrest warrant at The Hague since March. Among the heinous acts the impugned Duterte has been charged with include his role as a co-perpetrator in 19 killings between 2013 and 2016, when he was mayor of Davao City. Even while in custody in The Hague, Duterte, who had enlisted recruits to the so-called Davao death squad, was, in May, reelected as the city’s mayor. While serving as the country’s president between 2016 and 2022, he was implicated in the murder of 14 “high-value targets” and, in a separate charge, in the murder of 43 low-level drug users and dealers. In a country that experts believe was anythi