Lawyer for Philippine president calls ICC complaint 'propaganda'

FILE PHOTO: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announces the disbandment of police operations against illegal drugs at the Malacanang palace in Manila, Philippines early January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Ezra Acayan/File Photo

MANILA (Reuters) - The chief lawyer for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday dismissed a complaint made against the leader and his top officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as "propaganda", and doubted it had jurisdiction over the issue. In a telephone interview with news channel ANC, Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the 77-page complaint filed by a Philippine lawyer Jude Sabio accusing Duterte of crimes against humanity was an attempted slur by the president's opponents. Panelo said there was no evidence to support allegations that state-sponsored extrajudicial killings had taken place under Duterte's presidency, or when he was mayor of southern Davao City. The allegations centre on Duterte's bloody nationwide war on drugs and his anti-crime campaigns in Davao. (Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)