Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he takes “full legal responsibility” for his war on drugs that has killed thousands.

Duterte appeared at a Senate hearing on Monday. Philippine lawmakers are investigating the bloody crackdown he launched during his six-year presidency since 2016. The government says the campaign has killed more than 6,000 people.

Duterte said: “I and I alone take full legal responsibility. I would be the one in jail, not the policemen who followed my order.”

But Duterte offered no apology, saying he did what he had to do for his country.

Outside the Senate, relatives and families of the victims gathered demanding justice.

The International Criminal Court has also investigated the anti-drug campaign as a possible crime against humanity.

But the Philippines says the court is a threat to the country’s sovereignty and that it “will not lift a finger” to help the investigation. Manila left the court in 2019.