Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on Tuesday at a Manila airport on his return from Hong Kong after an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his much-criticized war on drugs. His youngest daughter, Veronica Duterte, confirmed his departure on Instagram, posting a photo of a small bus on an airfield. “They took dad from us, put him on a plane and wouldn’t tell. People, wake up,” she posted.
Local media publications, such as ABS-CBN News, have posted videos of Duterte stepping on a jet plane, and Philippine Star reported an unnamed senior police official stating the flight was on its way to The Hague where the ICC sits. Official announcement from the Philippine police, though, is not yet made.
Duterte, the nation’s president from 2016 to 2022, became infamous for his brutal campaign against drugs that killed thousands. The ex-mayor-president often promised to eradicate drug crime and openly boasted he would “rot in jail” for doing so. The ICC is looking into claims of crimes against humanity, claiming jurisdiction over crimes done while the Philippines was still a signatory of its founding charter.
Duterte has earlier disavowed the jurisdiction of the ICC, pulling out the Philippines from the court in 2019 as it opened a probe on supposed extrajudicial killings during his time. His relatives and supporters have protested his arrest as illegal, maintaining that the ICC has no legal jurisdiction over him.
If Duterte is sent to The Hague, he would be the first Asian head of state to face trial before the ICC, a historic turn of events in international justice.
