The Philippines' war on drugs is under international scrutiny.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said the court has jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for thousands of extrajudicial deaths in the Philippines' war on drugs.

"I am deeply concerned about the allegations of murder and the public statements from senior Philippine officials that appear to condone such killings," Reuters quoted ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as saying on October 15.

The Philippines joined the ICC (headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands) in November 2011. Ms. Bensouda stated that extrajudicial killings could be prosecuted by the ICC if it finds that "this is part of a widespread or systematic attack against human beings."

On October 13, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued to defy the international community by publicly criticizing those who oppose his war on drugs. Duterte called US President Barack Obama, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations "fools" and threatened to humiliate them if they continued to question his campaign.

A police officer clashes with civilians during a drug raid in the Philippines. Photo: Reuters.

"Many of those killed were executed in accordance with police procedures, and this is being investigated under police direction," Andanar continued. Meanwhile, President Duterte's secretary, Martin Andanar, said that Duterte "is more willing to be investigated than anyone else."

More than 3,500 people have died in the anti-drug campaign launched by the Philippine president since he took office in June.

The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 under the Rome Statute. It is the highest court that will intervene when it finds that a state is unwilling or unable to prosecute crimes defined in the Statute, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

According to Zing.vn