‘I killed criminals, Putin kills civilians’: Duterte says again he won’t face ICC

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday reiterated his stand that he would only face a Philippine court for alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration's drug war, noting that he “only killed criminals.”

In his speech at the inauguration of the new Leyte Provincial Capitol in Palo, Leyte, Duterte claimed that he only killed criminals in his anti-drugs campaign, compared to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said is killing civilians amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

He earlier said that the Philippines must stay “neutral” in the conflict, but has to eventually make a stand, saying that Putin is “suicidal.”

The President said he is also hoping that the rising tension between both countries will not lead to a nuclear war as the whole world will be affected.

“Kaibigan ko si Putin. He is a personal friend. Dalawang beses na ako nagpunta ng Russia. Inimbita kaming ASEAN leaders sa Amerika. Sabi ko, kailan? Sa March 28. Ni minsan, ni minsan hindi ako pumunta ng Amerika. Human rights, human rights. Si Putin, pinapatay pati civilian doon. Ako? Sino ba pinatay ko? Pinatay ko puro kriminal. Bakit ko pinatay? Sa droga,” he said in a mix of Bisaya and Tagalog.

(Putin is my friend. He is a personal friend. I went to Russia several times. I was invited to the ASEAN leaders meeting in America. It will be on March 28. I never went to America. Human rights, human rights. Putin is killing civilians there. I only killed criminals because of drugs.)

Many of the individuals killed in the Duterte administration's war on drugs did not face due process, having been killed in police operations for allegedly fighting back. The administration's official tally of the dead in the drug war is over 6,000, though rights groups say that the actual number is much higher.

“Sisirain mo ang bayan ko, that's the problem. Lahat ng anak natin kung makita and the things that they do horrible, pupugutan ng ulo yung asawa, ni-rape ang anak at papatayin tapos itatago sa imburnal. Ang resulta tapos itong human rights pati ICC [International Criminal Court Office], international court, bakit ako mag-international court? Hindi naman ako international, local lang ako eh,” Duterte added.

(Drugs will destroy my country, that's the problem. All our children can see and may do horrible things, the spouse will be beheaded, the child will be raped and killed and then hidden in the sewer. Why should I go to an international court? I'm not international, I'm just local.)

He repeatedly said that he would only face a Philippine court and if convicted, would choose to be imprisoned in Muntinlupa.

“I am Filipino. If I am accused of something it must be within the jurisdiction of the Philippines. If I am tried it should be before a Filipino judge and ang prosecutor must be a Filipino like me… kung makulong man ako sa Muntinlupa, magpapatayan kami doon [if I will be imprisoned, I would choose Muntinlupa, we will kill each other there],” Duterte said.

The ICC has temporarily suspended its investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity in connection with Duterte's war on drugs.

The prosecution made the move days after the Philippines requested the ICC to defer to its government's investigation of its nationals for killings in the context of the campaign against drugs.

Duterte earlier said he did not benefit from his drug war campaign, and that it  was for the future of the Filipino youth.

Malacañang also said it would be difficult for the ICC to “uncover the truth” as it insisted that the Philippine government will not cooperate in the investigation owing to the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019.

The ICC has also sent a team of investigators into "the Ukraine region" to start looking into possible war crimes there. — BM, GMA News