ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced earlier this week that her office would analyse the alleged crimes carried out since July 1, 2016. Since Duterte took office in mid-2016, he has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police. The outspoken leader has publicly called on police to kill drug suspects while vowing to protect officers from prosecution, maintaining the anti-crime operations are tough but legitimate. Gascon's commission has also sought to investigate the drug war killings but has been hampered by a lack of cooperation from other government agencies like the police as well as limited resources. Duterte on Friday issued a veiled warning to ICC prosecutor Bensouda, telling her: "Do not go into that adventure.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 10, 2018 09:33 UTC