For years many brave Filipinos have worked tirelessly, in and out of the spotlight, to expose the horrors of the deadly campaign

Facing charges of crimes against humanity and hauled off to The Hague, the arrest this week of the former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is a pivotal moment for those seeking justice for the many thousands of lives lost during his reign.

Soon after his inauguration in 2016, the then Philippine leader embarked on a violent crackdown on drugs and crime that catalysed a wave of extrajudicial killings. Rights groups say that up to 30,000 people were killed in Duterte’s “war on drugs”.