Manila (AFP) – Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday in Manila by police acting on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant 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 that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, 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 said in a statement.
“As of now, he is under the custody of authorities.”
The statement added that “the former president and his group are in good health and are being checked by government doctors”.
Duterte’s former chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, called the arrest “unlawful”.
“The (Philippine National Police) didn’t allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport and to question the legal basis for PRRD’s arrest,” he said, adding a hard copy of the ICC warrant had not been provided.
But a group that worked to support mothers of those killed in Duterte’s drugs crackdown called the arrest a “very welcome development”.
“The mothers whose husbands and children were killed because of the drug war are very happy because they have been waiting for this for a very long time,” Rubilyn Litao, coordinator for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, told AFP.
Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, called on the government of President Ferdinand Marcos to “swiftly surrender (Duterte) to the ICC”, saying the arrest was a “critical step for accountability in the Philippines”.
I’d say this is a positive thing, and I suppose it is, but it mainly feels like a political hit job by the Marcos family. I won’t be shedding any tears for Duterte though…
My Filipino wife is pretty bent about the whole thing and does indeed think it’s a hit job from the Marcos family. And this is a woman who grew up under Marcos and calls herself a loyalist. LOL, she’s in bed right now listening to the Filipino news.
(Filipino politics are beyond me, but I’m trying to learn. Call her biased, but at least she lived it, says Marcos brought roads and hospitals and schools, things she never had when she was little.)
You’re right. The Marcos family is definitely going to benefit from this especially with their strained relationship. Regardless, Duterte must be brought to justice. The Marcos family should too. It just so happens the Philippines got itself in such a mess today that we got BOTH of them in power. Anyway, we must always be critical of both Duterte and Marcos.
TRUMP SAID HE WAS A GREAT MAN 🤣🤣🤣
And we should be taking notes as to how this is done…
Right, of course he did…
Why the fuck does he love these dictators so much, and so openly? And why the fuck do people still support that? It’s completely insane.
Speaking to thousands of overseas Filipino workers there Sunday, the former president decried the investigation, labelling ICC investigators “sons of whores” while saying he would “accept it” if an arrest were to be his fate.
A completely normal response to charges of crimes against humanity. This man advocated murder. I hope the ICC gets justice for victims.
We got Duterte arrested before Satanyahu, before GTA6
Was Duterte the guy who bragged about his first murder from when he was like 14 and stabbed someone?
He brags about many crimes then says he never did anything whenever convenient.
Isn’t his daughter the VP?
Yes. Sara Duterte. She has an impending impeachment trial for corruption.
If PH is not part of the ICC now, then who is benefiting from this cooperation?
Filipino here. For some of us, this is a huge step towards justice for the victims of the killings when he was in power. We can’t really expect the PHL govt to do something like this given how sketchy it is, so to some people the ICC is the only hope.
I have a question because the article didnt make this that clear: Did he ordered the execution of people even tho theres little to no evidence, that they were engaged I drug trades etc?
Comment by apt is right. There have also been numerous cases where teens were killed for no reason and put under the war on drugs killings.
These happened while he was president. But he was a long-time mayor of Davao City, where he had a death squad. I assume I don’t have to outline the implications of a mayor having his own death squad.
What The actual fuck? How is it legal for a fucking Mayor to have a death squad?
At that point legality doesn’t really matter. This is just how “traditional” Philippine politicians are, especially the powerful dynasties in the provinces. Duterte is one of the worst, but he’s certainly not the only one here.
So this is part of the reason why the ICC arrest is very much important to us (not everyone, since the guy has a huge following, sadly). He will never be prosecuted here. The hope is that an outside enforcer will properly prosecute and actually lock him and his cronies up for good.
Yes. They’re “extrajudicial killings”. If you were suspected of drugs, you could get shot by the police even with little evidence. Some police would abuse and do things like planting evidence. Police were also awarded bounties for killing suspects.
That’s fucked up. Thanks for the info.
Off-topic, just want to say that I love that your name is cows are underrated, with a picture of a cow…way to be!
Oh look, picking on the little guy works. Justice is served!
Now go play with the big boys and arrest Putin, Netanyahu and … Oh wait, justice doesn’t work there! Only against the weak or the powerless.
Do you think the Philippine police should go to Russia and Israel to arrest Putin and Netantahu?
I don’t understand what your complaint here is. It’s up to the individual countries to enforce ICC arrest warrants. The Philippines chose to enforce it. That’s a good thing. If your complaint is that other countries don’t enforce it, then you should take that up with those countries, instead of crapping all over the Philippines for doing what those other countries don’t have the courage to do.
Lol. You clearly know nothing about Philippine politics if you think this means nothing to us. You Westerners probably think of us as little people too yeah? You really only care about yourselves. Do human rights only matter if its your people?
Please book a flight to the Philippines and tell the grieving families that Duterte is nothing but a “little guy” and his crimes never mattered.
And if you think this is all just in the past, I bet you aren’t even aware that his daughter is literally the vice president right now who’s looking to run for president in 2028. Hmmm…
We’re all little people. We all could do something about it, yet we don’t. ICC? UN? Why the fuck do you need it to do your justice for you?
Fuck off with your bullshit. All of these are our own countries and yet we do nothing and need the UN to act? The blame is none but our own.
“Weak and powerless” Lol, that man is still influential in the Phillippines. And by no means poor. But okay, you can have a little extrajudicial killings of addicted people as a treat.
That’s compared to you and me. But he was arrested, so all of that wealth and influence were worthless to him.
And extrajudicial or intrajudicial, killing is killing. I’d just wish the bodies in charge wouldn’t be so picky about those they target for punishment.
That ratfucker casually dropped this: "Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now, there are 3 million drug addicts … I’d be happy to slaughter them."
He got off lightly.
picking on the little guy
Dude is the former president of a country of over a hundred million people and has murdered tens of thousands of people, some of them with his own hands.
You need to get a fucking grip if you think arresting him for his many crimes against humanity is “picking on the little guy”! 🤦
He was and did. Now he’s not. Therefore, they only went after him now that he’s weak and powerless to stop them.
Please go away with your bullshit as I’ll go away with mine.
Pointless posturing…