Former Philippine President Duterte says the ICC should “hurry up” to investigate the drug war.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should “hurry up” to investigate his war on drugs, but stood firm in his defense of the brutal campaign and said the investigation should begin immediately.

“I ask the ICC to hurry up and if possible, they can come here tomorrow and start investigating,” Duterte told a congressional inquiry into his war on drugs.

“If I’m found guilty, I’ll go to prison.”

According to police figures, more than 6,200 people have died in anti-drug operations under Duterte's presidency, in which police typically said they killed suspects in self-defense.

Human rights groups believe the actual number of victims is far higher, with thousands more users and small-time traders killed under mysterious circumstances by unknown assailants.

“I take full responsibility for all the measures taken by the law enforcement agencies of this country to… stop the serious problem of drugs afflicting our people,” said Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022.

The ICC last year cleared the way for an investigation into the several thousand deaths and other alleged rights violations.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019. ICC appeals judges then ruled that prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they were committed while the Philippines was still a member of the ICC.