MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Philippines: Former President Duterte arrested upon landing in Manila

Duterte was famous for his violent crackdown on drug trafficking

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila’s international airport on Tuesday upon arriving from Hong Kong, following an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for crimes against humanity. His detention came in connection with the ICC's investigation into the mass killings during Duterte’s brutal anti-drug crackdown, which spanned his time as mayor of Davao and his presidency (2016-2022).

The Philippine government confirmed that the prosecutor general served the ICC arrest warrant, and Duterte was taken into custody, though his exact location afterward was not disclosed. He is reported to be in good health at 79 years old. “Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for the crime of crime against humanity,” the government's statement read. “He’s now in the custody of authorities.”

The arrest caused a commotion at the airport, with Duterte’s lawyers, aides, and allies, including Senator Bong Go, protesting that his constitutional rights were violated. “This is a violation of his constitutional right,” Bong Go told reporters.

The ICC had been investigating the drug-related killings as possible crimes against humanity since 2011, despite Duterte withdrawing the Philippines from the ICC’s Rome Statute in 2019 to avoid accountability. The investigation resumed in 2023 after ICC appeals judges rejected objections from the populist Duterte administration.

Victims’ families, such as Randy de los Santos, whose nephew Kian was killed by police in 2017, expressed hope for justice, noting rare convictions of officers involved in the crackdown. The arrest has been seen as a significant moment for accountability, though challenges remain in prosecuting other involved parties. Three of the police officers who killed Kian de los Santos were convicted in 2018, which led Duterte to temporarily halt his anti-drug efforts. “Now we feel that justice is rolling. We hope that top police officials and the hundreds of police officers who were involved in the illegal killings should also be placed in custody and punished,” de los Santos said.

The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., while not rejoining the ICC, cooperated with the arrest following an Interpol Red Notice. The Manila office of Interpol received an official copy of the arrest warrant from the global court, the government also said.

The ICC is a llast resort whenever local authorities are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects in international crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022, decided against rejoining the ICC.