Former Philippine President Duterte arrested, sent to The Hague over drug war killings

MANILA. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was flown to The Hague on Tuesday after being arrested in Manila at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move marks a significant development in the court’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration’s controversial war on drugs.

Duterte, 79, who led the country from 2016 to 2022, was taken into custody early Tuesday morning, making him the first Asian former head of state to potentially stand trial at the ICC. His arrest is the most decisive action taken so far in the court’s probe into the anti-drug crackdown that resulted in thousands of deaths and sparked global condemnation.

Marcos: ‘The Plane Is En Route’

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed Duterte’s transfer to the Netherlands, stating, “The plane is en route to The Hague, in the Netherlands, allowing the former president to face charges of crimes against humanity about his bloody war on drugs.”

Marcos emphasized that the arrest complied with Interpol, adding, “We did not help the International Criminal Court in any way.”

Duterte’s war on drugs was a key campaign promise that catapulted him to power. Nicknamed “The Punisher” for his tough-on-crime stance, he had often boasted in speeches that thousands of drug pushers would be killed. However, the crackdown led to accusations of widespread extrajudicial killings, primarily targeting the country’s poor.

Duterte’s Longstanding Defiance

Despite repeated rebukes from international human rights organizations, Duterte had remained defiant. He withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty in 2019 when the court began looking into allegations of systematic killings of suspected drug offenders.

The ICC maintains it has jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member. Duterte has consistently defended his administration’s actions, claiming police only used lethal force in self-defense. He had also declared multiple times that he was willing to “rot in jail” if it meant ridding the country of illegal drugs.

“This is only the start of our fight. Our justice has not yet been achieved because there’s still a lot of things that will happen, but we will not stop fighting,” said Llore Pasco, 70, a mother who lost two sons to the drug war.

Thousands of Lives Lost

Official figures from the Philippine National Police (PNP) indicate that 6,200 suspects were killed in anti-drug operations under Duterte’s presidency, all allegedly during shootouts with law enforcement. However, human rights groups claim the actual death toll is much higher, with as many as 30,000 people—including many slum-dwelling drug users—gunned down in circumstances they say suggest summary executions.

Activists accuse the police of fabricating reports and staging crime scenes to cover up extrajudicial killings. The ICC’s prosecutor alleges that Duterte bore criminal responsibility for at least 43 murders between 2011 and 2019, spanning both his time as mayor of Davao City and his tenure as president.

Duterte: ‘Try Me in the Philippines’

Duterte, speaking via livestream while in custody, argued that he should be tried in the Philippines rather than by an international tribunal. “Why will you bring me to an international body when we are no longer a member?” he asked. “Ponder on it seriously, because this will have implications.”

His arrest has triggered outrage among his family, allies, and supporters, many of whom see it as an affront to Philippine sovereignty.

“They took Dad from us, put him on a plane, and wouldn’t say where to. People, wake up,” Duterte’s youngest daughter, Veronica Duterte, posted on Instagram, calling his detention an act of “kidnapping.”

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s longtime aide, condemned the arrest, saying, “Long gone are the days when foreigners dictated how we run our internal affairs.”

A Family’s Fall from Power

The arrest marks a dramatic downfall for the Duterte political dynasty, which played a crucial role in helping Marcos secure a landslide victory in the 2022 elections. Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte, was elected vice president, strengthening the alliance between the two political families. However, the relationship soured, culminating in Sara’s impeachment last month by a lower house dominated by Marcos loyalists.

Marcos, who had previously vowed not to cooperate with the ICC, signaled a shift in stance, stating that his administration would comply with the arrest warrant if issued.

Despite Duterte’s overwhelming influence in Philippine politics, local investigations into the drug war have progressed slowly, with no charges filed against him or his top law enforcement officials. The ICC’s intervention, however, has reignited hope among victims’ families and human rights organizations that justice will finally be served.

Leila de Lima, a former justice minister jailed under Duterte after leading a Senate probe into the killings, praised the victims’ families for their resilience. “Your voices mattered, your courage mattered,” she said.

Duterte now faces trial at The Hague, a momentous chapter in the ongoing pursuit of accountability for the thousands of lives lost under his administration’s war on drugs.