Former president to run in his home city of Davao despite ICC’s investigation into possible crime against humanity
The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, whose anti-drugs crackdown is being investigated by the international criminal court as a possible crime against humanity, has registered to run for mayor of his home city.
Duterte, 79, filed his papers with the Election Commission in Davao City, where he had served as mayor for about two decades before winning the presidency in 2016. His son, incumbent Davao city mayor, Sebastian Duterte, would run as his vice-mayor in next year’s midterm elections, officials said.
More than 6,000 people, mostly poor drug suspects, were killed under a massive police-enforced crackdown against illegal drugs that Duterte oversaw when he was president, according to government pronouncements. But human rights groups say the death toll is considerably higher and should include many unsolved killings by gunmen on motorcycles, who may have been deployed by police.
Duterte has denied condoning extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, although he has openly threatened suspects with death and has ordered police to shoot suspects who dangerously resist arrest.
