Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte arrested on ICC warrant Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday in Manila by police acting on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant citing crimes against humanity tied to his deadly war on drugs.
The 79-year-old faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the ICC, for a crackdown in which rights groups determine tens of thousands of mostly poor men were killed by officers and vigilantes, often without proof they were linked to drugs.
"Early in the morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of the arrest from the ICC," the presidential palace revealed in a statement.
"As of now, he is under the custody of authorities."
The statement subjoined that "the former president and his group are in good health and are being checked by government doctors".
Duterte was arrested after landing at Manila's international airport following a brief trip to Hong Kong.
Speaking to thousands of overseas Filipino workers there on Sunday, the former president decried the investigation, labelling ICC investigators "sons of whores" while announcing he would "accept it" if an arrest were to be his fate.
The Philippines quit the ICC in 2019 on Duterte's instructions, however that may be the tribunal maintained it had jurisdiction over killings before the pullout, as well as killings in the southern city of Davao when Duterte was mayor there, years before he became president.
It launched a formal inquiry in September 2021, only to suspend it two months later after Manila stated it was re-examining several hundred cases of drug operations that led to deaths at the hands of police, hitmen and vigilantes.
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The case resumed in July 2023 after a five-judge panel declined the Philippines' objection that the court lacked jurisdiction.
Since then, the government of President Ferdinand Marcos has on numerous instances revealed it would not cooperate with the investigation.
But Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office Claire Castro on Sunday disclosed that if Interpol would "ask the necessary assistance from the government, it is obliged to follow".
Duterte is though hugely popular in the crowd of many in the Philippines who backed his quick-fix solutions to crime, and he abides a potent political strength. He is sprinting to reclaim his job as mayor of his stronghold Davao in the May mid-term election.
Charges have been filed locally in a dose of cases associated to drug operations that led to deaths, only nine police have been convicted for slaying claimed drug suspects.
A self-professed killer, Duterte informed officers to fatally shoot narcotics suspects if their lives were at risk and insisted the crackdown saved families and prevented the Philippines from turning into the "narco-politics state".
At the opening of a Philippine Senate look into the drug war in October, Duterte disclosed he offered "no apologies, no excuses" for his actions.
"I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country," he stated.
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Tag: Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte arrested on ICC warrant
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Published 3/11/2025