Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was "pivotal" in the murder of thousands of people during his rule, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday (February 23), as they pushed for his trial to go ahead. The prosecutors at the Hague-based war crimes court have charged Duterte with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, involving dozens of victims that accusers say were only a fraction of the real death toll in his clampdown on alleged drug users and

WATCH: On the second day of the confirmation of charges hearing against former President Rodrigo Duterte at the ICC, the Human Rights Watch 2022 report documenting more than 6,000 killings allegedly linked to the war on drugs was cited. HRW Asia Director Elaine Pearson said the citation of their findings is a powerful step toward accountability for the killings recorded during Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor and later as president. | via Jay-vee Marasigan Pangan/Stringer WATCH THE LIVESTREAM: