Rodrigo Duterte arrested for alleged crimes against humanity
Former president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested following a warrant from the International Criminal Court over his alleged crimes against humanity.
Immediately after arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong on March 11, Duterte was placed under police custody.
The Presidential Communications Office said Interpol Manila received an official copy of the ICC arrest warrant early Tuesday morning.
Upon Duterte's arrival in Manila, the Prosecutor General served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant against the former president for crimes against humanity.
"Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doctor ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan," PCO said in a statement.
Sen. Bong Go, who has served as Duterte's personal aide and special assistant, arrived at the airport with the former president's personal physician and an ambulance. However, Duterte was taken to Villamor Air Base, as per reports.
"Kahapon nagrereklamo po siya, sumasakit daw ang kanyang likod, ayon sa kanyang pamilya," he said in a Facebook live.
In another stream, he told the media that Duterte was set to undergo a medical procedure on March 12.
In an exclusive interview with GMA News, Duterte said he can "always respond legally" to the arrest warrant.
Duterte questioned his arrest while at the Villamore Air Base in an Instagram story posted by his daughter Kitty Duterte.
"What is the law and what is the crime I committed?" he said. "Assure to me now the legal basis for my being here. I was brought here not of my own volition, but somebody else's. You have to answer now for the deprivation of [my] liberty."
He said on Monday in Hong Kong that he was ready to be arrested if the ICC issued a warrant and has repeatedly defended his crackdown on drugs. He denied ordering police to kill drug suspects unless in self-defense.
In November 2024, Duterte dared the ICC to "hurry up" with its probe.
This is contrary to what he said before disembarking the aircraft on Tuesday morning: "You will just have to kill me. Hindi ako papayag kung kakampi d'yan sa mga puti."
'No legal representation'
Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo called Duterte's arrest "unlawful" as the Philippine National Police "did not allow" one of the ex-president's lawyers to meet him at the airport.
"He was deprived of legal representation at the time of his arrest. The PNP could not have a hard copy [of] the warrant [of] arrest."
Panelo added that the arrest warrant came from a "spurious source" as the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 after the Hague-based tribunal started probing allegations of human rights abuses committed in his war on drugs.
Based on the government's "Real Numbers" data, a total of 6,229 individuals were killed during anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to Jan. 31, 2022.
Rights groups, however, estimated that the number of deaths from the bloody anti-narcotics campaign reached as high as 27,000.
The Supreme Court ruled that the government is still obliged to comply with the ICC investigation because the possible crimes happened while the Philippines was still a member-state.
According to the ICC, crimes against humanity are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement (particularly of women and children), sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.
The tribunal also has jurisdiction to prosecute crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. (with reports from Kay Johnson, Matty Petty, Karen Lema / Reuters)
