Activists backed by the Philippine Catholic Church on Wednesday launched an independent fact-finding body looking into drug-related extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the six-year reign of former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

The launch of the EJK Truth Commission came just hours ahead of a separate announcement regarding Duterte from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Hague-based body said the trial of the 81-year-old former leader is set to start in late November.

Duterte, who was in office from 2016 to 2022, waged a massive anti-drug campaign due to what he described as the threat of the Philippines becoming a narco state. The drug war left as many as 30,000 people dead, according to human rights groups, with Duterte later charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

What are the aims of the EJK commission? 

The five-member EJK commission is expected to hold public hearings starting in July.  

Raul Pangalangan, a law professor who previously worked as a judge for the ICC, said the commission "was created to ensure that the stories of victims, survivors and families are heard, verified and preserved." Pangalangan will serve as the chairman of the commission.

The bloody crackdown under Duterte "happened because everybody looked the other way," Pangalangan said. "It is almost a conspiracy of silence." 

The EJK commission is set to make recommendations to the Office of the President, the Congress and the National Police Commission in light of its findings. 

Cardinal Pablo Vrigilio David, a bishop on the EJK commission who will work as an adviser, said the inquiry is "long overdue."

"This is an opportunity for a catharsis.... so we can recover our dignity as a country," David said. "Ultimately, what we aspire for is healing, not only for the victims but also our institutions."    

David noted that many of the police officers who killed victims in the crackdown had claimed that the victims "fought back." The commission is an attempt to discover the truth "that was buried along with the people who allegedly fought back." 

The group aims to investigate many of the thousands of cops who took part in the bloody crackdown and who have not yet been taken to justice. 

Currently, the Philippines is attempting to locate Duterte's ally ex-police chief Ronald dela Rosa, who was responsible for enforcing the narcotics crackdown. Dela Rosa is in hiding after he fled a standoff in the Philippines' Senate building.    

Duterte's ICC trial to start in late November

Meanwhile, the ICC said it will start its crimes against humanity trial against 81-year-old Duterte on November 30. 

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines last year and then brought to the Hague to face trial. He is to face charges over the anti-drug campaign during his time as president, but also over previous crackdowns staged while he served as mayor in the southern Philippine city of Davao.   

Duterte has rejected the charges against him and said that police have only shot people during the crackdown on the grounds of self-defense.   

The former president is being held in the Hague's detention center. His defense team has argued that Duterte is not mentally fit enough follow the proceedings of the trial.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic