Duterte’s drug war targeted the poor, killed children — ICC prosecution

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February 24, 2026 | 7:04pm

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution continued to establish its case against former president Rodrigo Duterte, reiterating a point made by activists and victims: the war on drugs was a war on the poor; one that resulted in the death of children.

ICC lawyer Edward Jeremy continued the prosecution team’s case buildup, establishing the systemic pattern in which Duterte’s drug war was perpetuated on a national scale.

"When Duterte said that someone should be killed, they ended up dead," Jeremy said.

Jeremy highlighted several famous cases, including the high-profile killing of former Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. Espinosa had been part of Duterte’s infamous narco list. Despite surrendering to the police, Espinosa ended up dead—much to Duterte’s apparent pleasure, Jeremy said.

Jeremy noted that Duterte did not just target political rivals; “he went after the poor,” the lawyer said.

A witness, whose identity was withheld, told the court that Oplan Tokhang explicitly focused on the poor, as they were the least likely to file complaints.

Jeremy said a clear pattern emerged: after someone was identified on a local police drug list, they would later turn up dead, with drugs and a gun planted to make it appear as if they had shot at cops.

He called these “copy-paste” reports, blaming the poor.

The prosecution also focused on the children killed in the campaign.

A clip was shown of Duterte saying that if a child could become addicted to drugs, “you should kill them,” Jeremy said.

“It’s worth pausing here, taking a step back, and reflecting on what we are seeing and what we are hearing. This is the president of the Philippines, the commander-in-chief, the most powerful man in the Philippines. He is pointing directly at the crowd and telling them to kill someone else’s child. Kill them, not because they are an alleged druglord, not even an alleged criminal, but simply because they may have an addiction to drugs.” Jeremy said.

"Sure enough, they ended up dead," he added.

Jeremy said the shadow of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos continues to haunt Duterte, describing his case as the prime example of how children were not safe from Oplan Tokhang.

According to Jeremy, even after Delos Santos’ death sparked national outrage and temporarily paused the drug war, killings resumed months later—and children began turning up dead again.

“Children continued to be the victims of these killings,” Jeremy said.

He further said that police detained two children on separate occasions, wrapping packaging tape around their heads to prevent screaming, and killed them.

Jeremy also said that the bodies of these children were sold to funeral homes for profit, describing it as “another gruesome promise made by Duterte.”