Philippines’ ex-president Rodrigo Duterte arrested over drug war killings

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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been detained under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over a crackdown on drugs that resulted in thousands of deaths in the south-east Asian country.

Duterte, 79, was arrested in Manila on Tuesday immediately on his return from a trip to Hong Kong, the communications office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement.

Police arrested Duterte after Interpol Manila received the official copy of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC alleging crimes against humanity, Marcos’s office said.

Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022, oversaw a crackdown on illicit narcotics, beginning when he was mayor of Davao City over a period of two decades starting in 1998.

The campaign, which targeted suspected drug dealers and users, led to the deaths of thousands of mostly poor Filipinos and raised global alarm over extrajudicial killings.

A three-judge panel at the ICC said there were “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity of murder”, citing “widespread and systematic” attacks on civilians during his time as Davao City mayor and president, according to a copy of the arrest warrant seen by the Financial Times.

At least 6,200 Filipinos were killed in the crackdown, according to the Philippine government, but rights groups say the official toll underestimates the number of lives lost.

A 2022 report by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights put the death toll at 8,663, based on official figures, although it also noted that other groups have put the total at more than triple that number.

According to local media reports, Duterte will first be handed over to an ICC member state and then be taken to the international court’s headquarters in The Hague. The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019.

Supporters of Duterte gathered on Tuesday around Villamor Air Base, where Duterte was transferred, photos on social media showed.

In a video posted by his daughter Veronica Duterte on social media on Tuesday, the former president questioned the legality of his arrest.

“What is the law and what is the crime I have committed? Show to me now the legal basis for my being here,” he said. “Apparently I was brought here not of my own volition.”

The ICC began a preliminary investigation in 2018 into allegations of extrajudicial killings during the course of the anti-drug operations.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC once the probe began, but under Marcos, who succeeded Duterte as president, Manila indicated it would co-operate with the court.

Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, the former president’s son and mayor of Davao City, wrote on Facebook: “They are insisting that [Duterte] get on a plane to who knows where using an ICC warrant, which does not have jurisdiction in this country.”

The ICC arrest warrant noted that while the Philippines has withdrawn from the court, the alleged crimes were committed while the country was under its jurisdiction.

The Duterte and Marcos families, once electoral allies, are now engaged in a bitter feud. Last year, Duterte’s daughter Sara, who serves as vice-president, said she had hired an assassin to kill Marcos, though she has since tried to walk back those comments. An impeachment motion has been filed against her over the threat.

“The Dutertes’ earlier attempts to pressure Marcos, including via thinly veiled coup threats, to protect the former president ultimately backfired,” said Peter Mumford, Eurasia Group practice head for south-east Asia, in a statement. “Marcos probably felt he had nothing to lose from allowing Duterte’s arrest.”

Mumford added that Duterte could seek to delay his deportation on medical grounds.

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