Former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte, who had been detained in Manila, took a flight out of the city and is expected to be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague. The aircraft carrying Duterte took off from the capital late on Tuesday. His arrest was orchestrated by the ICC, following his arrival from Hong Kong alongside his family at the international airport in Manila that Tuesday morning.
The international court had issued a warrant for Duterte’s arrest, following allegations of crimes against humanity related to a murderous anti-drug campaign while he was in executive office. As indicated by the Philippine government, Duterte was apprehended due to these allegations. The ex-president, who is 79 and employs a cane for support, briefly acknowledged a handful of aides and supporters, their eyes brimming with tears during the farewell, before he was assisted into the aircraft.
The arrest of Duterte, the first of an ex-Asian leader by the international tribunal, occurred after he landed at Manila’s international airport from Hong Kong in the company of his family. From here, he was escorted to the nearby Villamor Air Base. However, it remained uncertain where authorities would choose to transfer him next following his arrest.
Duterte, donning a dark jacket, vehemently protested his arrest upon arrival and demanded an explanation under what legal context he was being detained. Initiating legal action in response, Duterte’s team of lawyers promptly appealed to the Supreme Court in Manila, seeking to prevent any attempts to extradite him to the ICC based in Europe.
“Present the legal rationale for my presence here,” Duterte demanded of officials, in footage captured by his daughter, Veronica Duterte. He continued, “A response is necessary now due to the limitation imposed on my freedom.” His abrupt apprehension led to a chaotic scene at the airport, with Duterte’s legal team and aides voicing loud protests.
They claimed that they, along with a physician and various lawyers, were barred from approaching Duterte once he was taken into police custody. A close ally of Duterte contested this treatment, declaring to media outlets, “This is an infringement on his constitutional rights.”
The ICC had been researching the mass homicides incurred during Duterte’s ordered crackdowns while he served as the mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, and later during his presidential term. Death toll estimates, sourced from these crackdowns during Duterte’s presidency, vary from over 6,000 reported by national police to approximately 30,000, as stated by human rights organizations.
Upon Duterte’s arrival, the prosecutor general served him the ICC notification of his arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. The government reported that the former president had been taken into custody. The arrest warrant dispatched by the ICC and received by Philippines officers confirmed “justifiable grounds to believe” that the onslaught against victims “was on a significant, systematic scale, occurring over several years with casualties in the thousands.”
The warrant specified the necessity of Duterte’s apprehension “to confirm his court appearance,” elaborating that the former president was likely to dismiss tribunal summons. Although Duterte is no longer serving as president, he seems to still harness substantial power, adding to the risk of meddling with the investigation and jeopardizing the safety of witnesses and victims. Thus, Duterte’s capture was deemed necessary.
Duterte’s incipent arrest and subsequent downfall instigated shock among the families of his crackdown victims, leaving some weeping while others gathered on the streets to express their relief. One relative of a victim who was gunned down in Duterte’s anti-drug operation stated, “This is a long-awaited day of justice realization,” and added, “Now we feel the wheels of justice are in motion.”
Victims’ families expressed their hopes of also seeing officials and law enforcement involved in the unlawful killings taken into custody and penalized. The government stated that despite being recently arrested, Duterte, now 79 years old, is in good health. The ex-president was examined by state physicians post-arrest.
An investigation into drug-related killings under Duterte’s administration dating from November 1, 2011, when Duterte was the mayor of the southern city of Davao, to March 16, 2019, has been ongoing as part of a wider inquiry to determine potential crimes against humanity. Duterte had previously withdrawn the Philippines from the Rome Statute in 2019, a move speculated by human rights advocates as an attempt to evade accountability.
Despite the Duterte administration’s objections being overruled by ICC’s appeals judges, they gave the green light for the investigation to continue. The ICC can intervene in situations where countries are unable or unwilling to prosecute criminals involved in the most gruesome international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The fresh administration had stated its willingness to cooperate should the ICC ask for international police involvement to place Duterte under temporary arrest through a so-called Red Notice, effectively a worldwide request for law enforcement agencies to trace and detain a suspect.