International Criminal Court confirms Duterte arrest warrant

The International Criminal Court confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant against former president Rodrigo Duterte over alleged crimes against humanity during his deadly war on drugs.

"The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte for charges of the crime of murder as a crime against humanity allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019," said ICC spokesman Fadi Abdullah. 

"Once a suspect is in ICC custody, an initial appearance hearing will be scheduled," he added. "Further information will be communicated in due course."

Malacañang confirmed Duterte's arrest on Tuesday, March 11. It had been years in the making, beginning in October 2016 when then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said they were watching the Philippines closely as killings under the Duterte administration were on the rise just four months since he assumed office. 

As stated in the warrant obtained by The Philippine STAR, he was arrested for murder, torture, and rape—which are part of the 15 forms of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute—in connection with his administration's bloody war on drugs called Oplan Tokhang that saw the execution of thousands of suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals.

Duterte was brought to the Villamor Air Base upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong.  

He left the country at 11:03 p.m. of the same day to The Hague, Netherlands, where he would be tried by the ICC. (AFP)