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Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands on March 14, 2025. Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Bea Cuadra

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17853907317141785390731200.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands on March 14, 2025. <em>Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte this week questioned the true toll of former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s war on drugs, saying some deaths under the campaign were connected to the country&#x27;s &quot;bad&quot; gun violence situation.</p><p>Official government data released by the previous administration acknowledged some 6,252 deaths in its anti-drug operations. Human rights groups said that the actual death toll ranged between 12,000 and 30,000.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/30/-free-duterte-rally-outside-icc-energizes-vp-sara-0725">&#x27;Free Duterte&#x27; rally outside ICC energizes VP Sara</a></div><p>But the vice president argued that one cannot say for certain that all deaths in the anti-narcotics drive were victims of the drug war because of rampant gun violence in the Philippines.</p><p>&quot;[For example], I have a husband, my husband has a mistress, I can hire a gunman for P5,000 to kill the mistress. That is how, for P5,000, that is how bad gun violence in the Philippines is,&quot; the Vice President said during a visit to The Hague on Wednesday.</p><p>&quot;And that is, again, yes, EJK (extrajudicial killings). So how can you say that all your listed victims, all your listed complainants, are supposed victims of the drug war?&quot; she said.</p><p>She further explained that a death under the drug war could be the result of a crime of passion, a murder due to a third party, or a robbery. </p><p>&quot;So how can they say now that all the victims there are victims of the drug war that is supposed to be a crime against humanity? So that is the crime.&quot; </p><p>Former President Duterte is facing alleged crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) tied to his drug war. He is set to face trial in November.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/30/vp-duterte-urges-icc-to-expedite-dad-s-trial-amid-detention-concerns-0646">VP Sara urges ICC to expedite Rodrigo Duterte trial over detention concerns</a></div><p>&quot;The implementation of a program, whether it was good or bad, is not a crime against humanity. It may be good governance or bad governance. It is the same. It is the same with how President Marcos is running the country right now,&quot; the Vice President said.</p><p>&quot;It can be good governance or it is clearly bad governance.  That is not a crime against the Filipino population… How a program is implemented, whether there were mistakes, errors, it was a bad program, is not a crime against humanity… That is the crime that they are saying that President Duterte has done to the Filipino people. And they cannot even say right now if the victims are truly victims of the drug war.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/30/bir-submits-duterte-tax-records-to-impeachment-court-1102">BIR submits Duterte tax records to impeachment court with Marcos authorization</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8wsliT4f_7Y?&amp;t=124s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xAHCbPF6IBs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte this week questioned the true toll of former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, saying some deaths under the campaign were connected to the country's "bad" gun violence situation.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte this week questioned the true toll of former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, saying some deaths under the campaign were connected to the country's "bad" gun violence situation.

Sara Duterte says drug war extrajudicial killings connected to 'bad gun violence'

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Sara Duterte says drug war extrajudicial killings connected to 'bad gun violence'

Bea Cuadra,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 30, 2026 02:03 PM PHT

Read More:

Drug War

War On Drugs

Rodrigo Duterte

Sara Duterte

The Hague

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