Manila, Mar 11 (EFE).- Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte questioned the reason for his arrest in Manila on Tuesday after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity during his bloody so-called “war on drugs.”
In a video posted to social media by his daughter Veronica Duterte, the 79-year-old ex leader, sitting in a large chair at a table with food and drinks, demanded to know the basis for his detention.
“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? Show to me now the legal basis for my being here,” he said.
Philippine police are deployed at an airport lobby on the day of arrival of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at Manila International Airport in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 11 March 2025. EFE/EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA
Duterte, 79, was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his return from Hong Kong, where he was campaigning at the weekend ahead of the May 12 election, as arrest warrant speculation circulated in Manila.
“Earlier this morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC),” the presidential office said in a statement. “As of now, he is in custody.”
Airport arrest
Duterte was arrested Tuesday morning at Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his return from Hong Kong, where he had been campaigning over the weekend ahead of the May 12 midterm election.
He arrived at 9.20 am local time (01:20 GMT) and was served with the ICC notice for alleged crimes against humanity by the country’s prosecutor general and taken into custody, the presidential office said in a statement.
“The former president and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government doctors. Making sure he is in good condition. PNP (Philippines National Police) officers who executed the warrant were assured that they were wearing body cameras,” the office added.
Amid warrant rumors on Sunday in Hong Kong, Duterte had told a group of Filipino workers that “if this is really my fate in life, that’s okay, I will accept it. There’s nothing we can do.”
During his 2016-2022 presidential term, Duterte waged a brutal so-called “war on drugs,” in which some 30,000 people were killed, according to human rights groups.
The ICC’s investigation into extrajudicial killings spans between 2011 and 2019, covering Duterte’s time as mayor of Davao city, where he implemented a similar anti-drugs policy, and into his presidency, up until he withdrew the Philippines from the body.
Philippines police investigators conduct investigations at the scene where a suspected criminal was killed following a police operation against illegal drugs on August 18, 2017, in Manila Philippines. EFE/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
‘A reckoning’
In a statement, the Rise Up for Life and for Rights alliance against the drug war said the ICC move “is proof that the declaration that Duterte and his accomplices are able for the implementation of the war on drugs is justified. We hope that the process of holding Duterte able will continue.”
“The joy I felt today is incomparable, along with tears because of the joy of Duterte’s arrest,” said Dahlia Cuartero, mother of a victim, in the same statement.
Jane Lee, a wife of a drug war victim said she had “mixed emotions.”
“I am crying, I really want to see Duterte in prison. They should pay for what they did to us (…) our relatives were killed immediately.
There is a huge difference between the powerful and ordinary people like us.”
Meanwhile, Perci Cendaña, a member of the Akbayan political party and a deputy in the Lower House of Congress, called on the former leader to “take full responsibility for the thousands of deaths caused by your bloody and morally bankrupt war on drugs.”
“We’re relieved that the world finally sees your legacy for what it is — grave human rights abuses, rampant corruption, and a thirst for power.”
Former senator Leila de Lima, who heads the Mamamayang Liberal party list, said Duterte’s arrest “is the beginning of a much-needed reckoning.”
“We know all too well the devastating consequences of his abuse of power. This arrest should not only signal the end of impunity but ignite a larger movement for justice, transparency, and the restoration of human rights.”
Duterte’s former aide Senator Bong Go arrived with pizza at Villamor Air Base, where the detainee is believed to have been taken.
“Let’s just calm down and pray for former president Rodrigo Duterte,” he appealed.
Amid uncertainty over next steps, which the government has not yet clarified, ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said that Duterte should be sent to the Dutch court immediately.
“When a person is arrested under a warrant of arrest from the ICC, he should be turned over to law enforcement officer of a member state, and is to be flown to The Hague, The Netherlands ASAP,” she wrote on X. EFE
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