Duterte admits to wrongful killings for the first time in the war on drugs.

In a speech to government officials at the presidential palace yesterday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte once again addressed the war on drugs he launched. This campaign has resulted in thousands of deaths and sparked much controversy regarding its legitimacy, according to...New York Times.

Duterte declared that military and police generals could impeach him from the presidency if they were dissatisfied with his actions. "I asked the military what my mistake was? Did I steal a single peso?" the Philippine president said. "My only mistake was the extrajudicial killings."

Duterte did not elaborate further, but the statement marked the first time he publicly acknowledged that extrajudicial killings had occurred during his war on drugs in the Philippines.

In late August, activists and the families of eight people killed in the war on drugs filed a petition with the International Criminal Court (ICC) calling for the prosecution of President Duterte for "thousands of extrajudicial killings."

According to the lawsuit, those who oppose Duterte's anti-drug campaign are "persecuted," while complaints from the families of victims killed in the anti-drug campaign are "swept under the rug." This is the second lawsuit filed against Duterte at the ICC. In April 2017, a Filipino lawyer also filed a similar lawsuit against him.

After becoming president of the Philippines in June 2016, Duterte launched a war on drugs with strong support from the national police force. However, his campaign faced fierce backlash from domestic and international public opinion, with many arguing that the police had abused their power and committed numerous extrajudicial killings.