March 11, 2025
Rodrigo Duterte, former president of the Philippines, has been arrested under an International Criminal Court warrant and accused of crimes against humanity in connection with his deadly crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users. Philippine government data showed more than 6,000 deaths in connection with that crackdown while Duterte was in office; rights groups contend that the true number is higher.
Starting more than five years ago, FRONTLINE has examined Duterte’s rise, his rule, which ended in 2022, and his war on drugs in the documentaries A Thousand Cuts and On the President’s Orders, in an episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast called “Blood and Power in the Philippines,” and in multiple interviews with Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa.
This collected reporting offers an in-depth window into Duterte and the allegations against him.
A Thousand Cuts (2021)
A Thousand Cuts chronicles how journalist Maria Ressa’s independent news outlet Rappler reported on then-Philippine President Duterte’s war on drugs, and how Ressa then became a prime target of his crackdown on the press.
Listen to additional conversations with Ressa on The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast.
On the President’s Orders (2019)
This documentary offered a searing, on-the-ground look at Duterte’s deadly campaign against suspected drug dealers and users in the Philippines — a campaign citizen protestors said was “clearly a war on the poor.” As the campaign faced scrutiny and Duterte promised to scale back his war on drugs, the documentary drew on expansive access to the police themselves and examined suspicions that they had continued carrying out extrajudicial killings.
“Blood and Power in the Philippines” (2019)
Critics accused Duterte of “death squad” killings that violated human rights. Supporters called him their “protector” — the “savior” of the Philippines. Who is Duterte, and how did he rise to power? This episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast explored what made Duterte the leader he became, starting with his early years in his hometown in the Philippines — and including his time as the mayor of the city of Davao. The I.C.C.’s accusations span from when he was mayor through his presidency.
