Philippine protesters call for Duterte's prosecution after term ends

As Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte prepared to give his last annual policy address to Congress on Monday, thousands of protesters took to the streets calling for him to be prosecuted.

Duterte's six-year presidency ends next year, but he has said before he is open to running for vice president because it would give him immunity from any criminal suits that might be brought against him when he steps down.

Activists denounced the "bloody legacy" of Duterte's term - a reference to the killings under his controversial crackdown against illegal drugs and other alleged human rights violations.

"We say 'no more!' to a Duterte kind of governance," said Cristinay Palabay, secretary general of human rights group Karapatan, which was among dozens of organizations that joined demonstrations in Manila.

"We will not let him get away with mass murder and state repression, and we vow to not let his successor claim victory in the coming elections," she added. "We must end Duterte's reign of terror ... and hold him to account for his crimes against the Filipino people."

The demonstrators gathered at a state university campus about 6 kilometres away from the House of Representatives compound, where thousands of police have been deployed to secure the area for Duterte's state of the nation address.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said 76-year-old Duterte was not expected to discuss his political plans in 2022 during his speech, and instead would detail the roadmap for the country's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.