MANILA: Half of Filipinos believe former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable at the International Criminal Court over his controversial anti-drug campaign, an opinion poll showed on Monday.
Duterte, 80, has been in ICC custody since March, awaiting trial in relation to his administration’s “war on drugs” from 2016 to 2022, which ICC prosecutors estimate had resulted in the extrajudicial killing of 30,000 people.
The new survey, conducted by Social Weather Stations, an independent Philippine polling group, asked respondents how much they “agree or disagree that former President Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable in the International Criminal Court for the killings related to illegal drugs during his administration?”
It found that 50 percent of respondents agreed Duterte should be held responsible, 32 percent disagreed, 15 percent were undecided and 4 percent said they did not know enough to answer.
Support for accountability was highest in Visayas, 54 percent, and Metro Manila, 53 percent. In Mindanao – where the former president traces his political roots and despite detention won the mayoral election in May – the support for his trial was the lowest at 39 percent.
The survey was conducted nationwide from Sept. 24-30, sampling 1,500 adults with a margin of error of three percentage points.
It comes as the ICC last week rejected Duterte’s appeal for interim release.
In a ruling issued on Friday, the court’s pre-trial chamber said it found that Duterte’s detention “remains necessary” to ensure his appearance at trial, prevent him from obstructing the investigation or proceedings and to stop potential commission of further crimes.
It cited Duterte’s repeated rejection of the court’s authority and public statements by his family, including Vice President Sara Duterte, and supporters.
“More specifically, the chamber notes that on July 19, 2025, Mr. Duterte’s daughter mentioned in public speeches the idea of breaking Mr. Duterte out of the ICC Detention Center,” the ruling said.
The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, as the court’s prosecutors began to investigate Duterte’s “war on drugs.” Despite the withdrawal, the court has issued an arrest warrant against the former president, as it still keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the country was a member.
