He has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defence and has always defended the drug crackdown
“Duterte’s so-called war on drugs resulted in the killings of thousands of civilians and many of these victims were children,” prosecutor Mame Niang said at the opening of pre-trial hearings meant to confirm charges.
“Mr Duterte must be held to account and this case should be confirmed for trial,” he said.
According to the prosecutors, Duterte created, funded and armed death squads to target and kill alleged narcotics peddlers and users.
