JUDGES at the International Criminal Court have confirmed charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for deadly anti-drug crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office.

A three-judge panel found unanimously on Thursday that there were “substantial grounds” to believe the former leader was responsible for dozens of murders — first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later when he was president.

Mr Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in the Philippines last year and flown to The Hague, where the global court is located.

He denies the charges against him.

In their 50-page decision, judges found that the evidence shows that Mr Duterte, 81, “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy “to ‘neutralise’ alleged criminals.”

According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Mr Duterte’s behest starting in 2011, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.

“For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court in pretrial hearings in February.

Estimates of the death toll during Mr Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

Prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision “represents a significant milestone” in their effort to bring accountability.