For more than eight years, Nanette has been waiting for Rodrigo Duterte to pay

Sydney Morning Herald

by Zach Hope

February 24, 2026

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For more than eight years, Nanette has been waiting for Rodrigo Duterte to pay

For over eight years, Nanette Castillo has waited for justice as Rodrigo Duterte, the former Philippine president, stands accused of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Her son, Aldrin, was killed during Duterte’s infamous "war on drugs," a brutal crackdown that claimed thousands of lives, including children. Now, with Duterte in custody and facing a committal hearing for 76 alleged murders spanning from 2011 to 2019, Nanette and other victims' families are seeking accountability for the mass atrocities committed during his tenure. Duterte’s "war on drugs" began as mayor of Davao City in 1988 and expanded nationally after he became president in 2016. Rights groups estimate that up to 30,000 people were killed by police, hitmen, and members of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), often acting on Duterte’s orders or incentivized by financial rewards. The ICC case focuses on alleged crimes committed while the Philippines was a party to the Rome Statute, before Duterte withdrew the nation from the treaty in 2019. During the hearing, Duterte’s lawyer argued that the charges were politically motivated and that his rhetoric was meant to inspire fear in criminals, not incite murder. He claimed those who carried out the killings acted in self-defense or at Duterte’s warnings against abusing power. While the defense

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Originally published on Sydney Morning Herald on 2/24/2026