An International Criminal Court investigation that led to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest on Tuesday has its roots at the very start of Duterte’s drug war, which saw thousands dead in just the first year.

In a statement issued October 13, 2016, then ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office was aware of “worrying reported extra-judicial killings of alleged drug dealers and users in the Philippines, which may have led to over 3,000 deaths in the past three months.”

A year later, this number had ballooned to over 20,000 dead including 16,000 killings and another 4,000 dead in legitimate police operations, ex-presidential adviser Ronaldo Lllamas recalled, as seen in a Palace accomplishment report. The Duterte administration would later adjust the numbers, saying only 6,000 people were killed in the six-year drug war.

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Llamas said the huge number of killings from 2016-2017 prompted an ICC preliminary examination of the Duterte drug war to check “if extrajudicial killings and crimes against humanity were rampant” in the Philippines.

“Country specific ‘yung preliminary examination,” Llamas told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

An ICC preliminary investigation then focused on the people involved before the issuance of the arrest warrant. 

“Mukhang ‘yun ‘yun nangyari last week, meron international warrant na nadesisyunan ng ICC na ipinadala sa Interpol at ‘yang Interpol ang maglalabas ng tinatawag na Red Notice officially,” he said.

The same ICC warrant was used to arrest Duterte, he said.

Llamas noted the Philippine government had “softened” its stance on the ICC, from saying that ICC investigators would be “escorted out” in early 2023 to saying that government had “no choice but to implement the ICC order.”

The former presidential adviser said Duterte could face trial before The Hague in The Netherlands and may appeal the decision if found guilty of crimes against humanity.