In an unprecedented move, Philippine authorities apprehended the former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila and transported him to the Netherlands to stand trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). This information was disclosed by the current President Ferdinand Marcos during a late-night press briefing. Duterte was intercepted upon arrival at Manila International Airport from Hong Kong with his family.
At 79 years old, Duterte, who walked with the aid of a cane, paused momentarily to exchange farewells with a handful of aides and supporters before his escort ushered him onto the aircraft. Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, expressed frustration at being denied entry to the airbase where her father was detained and criticized Marcos’ administration for complying with the ICC, given the court’s lack of jurisdiction over the Philippines.
In the light of Duterte’s arrest, Marcos maintained that the process was “appropriate and justified,” emphasizing the Philippines’ membership in Interpol. Duterte becomes the first former leader from Asia to be taken into custody by the ICC. Clad in a dark jacket and visibly upset, Duterte challenged the legal grounds of his arrest upon arrival in Manila. His legal team promptly requested the Supreme Court to prevent his extradition.
Video footage recorded by Duterte’s daughter, Veronica, captured him questioning officials on the legal basis of his detainment and demanding justification for his loss of liberty. The unexpected arrest stirred a flurry at the airport, with protests from his lawyers and aides who were barred from approaching him, despite initially accompanying a doctor to his side. Close Duterte ally, Sen. Bong Go, condemned the treatment as a violation of his constitutional rights.
Duterte’s tenure was marked by a controversial war on drugs, drawing the ICC’s attention for alleged mass killings during his leadership in Davao City and later as president. Death toll estimates from the crackdown range from over 6,000 as per national police to 30,000 claimed by human rights organizations. The ICC issued an arrest warrant, noting the scale and systematic nature of the alleged crimes.
Upon his departure from the Philippines, the ICC verified that a pre-trial chamber issued a warrant against Duterte for murder as a crime against humanity, reportedly transgressed between November 2011 and March 2019. The arrest evoked a mix of tears and relief among families of the crackdown victims, who gathered to celebrate this stride towards justice.
Randy delos Santos, whose teenage nephew was fatally shot during a police operation in Caloocan City in 2017, found solace in Duterte’s arrest. The case against Duterte is seen as a critical moment against impunity, as highlighted by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a key figure in filing the ICC complaint.
The Duterte administration had previously sought to hinder the ICC probe, contesting that domestic investigations into the drug war were already underway. In 2019, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute to evade ICC scrutiny. However, in 2023, ICC appeals judges dismissed these objections and sanctioned the probe’s continuation.
Although President Marcos Jr., who took office after Duterte, chose not to rejoin the ICC, his administration indicated readiness to comply with international law enforcement’s requests regarding Duterte, thereby facilitating his arrest.
