Spokesperson: Duterte will never cooperate with ICC

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will never cooperate with a possible International Criminal Court investigation into the thousands of killings under his anti-drugs crackdown, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Spokesman Harry Roque called such an international inquiry "politically motivated" and "an insult" to the country's justice system. Outgoing ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that a preliminary examination found reason to believe crimes against humanity had been committed during Duterte's crackdown on drugs between July 1, 2016, and March 16, 2019. More than 6,000 mostly poor drug suspects have been killed, according to government pronouncements.