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Manila, Philippines – Almost three years after the departure of the presidency, former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine authorities in Manila, at the request of International Criminal Court (ICC) In The Hague, who investigates allegations of “crimes against humanity” committed in his six years in power.
The Duterte was immediately taken to the police arrest on Tuesday at Manila International Airport after arriving from Hong Kong, underway, welcomed by human rights groups as a “critical step on accountability in the Philippines”.
His journey to Hong Kong over the weekend had excited speculation that he would avoid arrest.
The arrest on Tuesday He marks the first time a leader in the Philippines will face an international tribunal. Arrest is particularly rare as the Philippines are no longer a member of ICC – Duterte withdrew the Philippines By the International Court of Justice in 2019 – and thus is not obliged by international law to detain someone who has an order against their name.
The decision of the government of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also a turn, as Marcos Jr. had previously rejected the ICC's jurisdiction over the Philippines.
So, what is the Duterte accused of, what prompted the Marcos government to arrest him, how did Duterte answer and what's next for the former president?
What is the accusation against Duterte – and what caused the ICC investigation?
The ICC has not yet issued an official statement on the specific accusation against Dutere.
The Hague -based court He investigated allegations of “crimes against humanity” committed by the 2018 Duterte, when he was still in power. He briefly stopped his work in 2021 at the request of the Philippine Government, but resumed his investigation in 2023.
Duterte was running for president in 2016 on a question about the fight against crime in the Philippines.
During his campaign, and later as president, he repeatedly urges police to “kill” drugs suspects or encourage suspects to stop to justify the deadly firing.
After taking office on June 30, 2016, he Immediately launched its deadly campaign described by the Catholic leaders of the country as “reign of terror.” During their six years of service, More than 7,000 people have been killed in official drug operations, according to police records.
But human rights advocates said the case of death had numbered over 30,000, including those killed by unknown suspects, some of whom were later police officers.
Not all cases were covered in the complaint filed before the ICC. But the defenders of the human rights and the lawyers of the victims of the victims were able to draw up evidence from several hundred cases, which were presented in the Hague Court.
Duterte repeatedly defends his actions as president. Last October at the time of hearing in the Senate, he said he was offering “No apologies, no excuses” to carry out the drug war.
During the same hearing, he also admitted an oath that he maintains a The Due to Death “of Gangsters To kill other criminals while he was mayor of the city of Dado in southern Philippines. Some of these cases were also included in the ICC complaint.
Has the Government of Jr. has changed its views on ICC?
Until the arrest of the Duterte on Tuesday, Marcos, Jr., repeatedly rejected the ICC's jurisdiction over the Philippines, and in the Duterte case, known, saying that he believes the international body was a “threat” to the country's sovereignty.
In July 2023, only a year in his Presidency, he categorically declared that the Philippines “would not cooperate” with ICC “in some way, form or form” after the ICC announced the resumption of the Dutner investigation.
Then, in early 2024, he was quoted: “Let me say this for the 100th time. I do not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC in the Philippines. The Philippine Government will not raise your finger to help any investigation that ICC is conducting. “
Marcos, Jr., will repeat the same line during his visit to Germany in March 2024 and meet with foreign correspondents in Manila in April of the same year.
Yet, the political equation that supported this position of the ICC has changed.
When Marcos -Jr. sought the presidency in 2022, he ran a ticket with the daughter of Duterte Sarah Duterte, winning a landslide victory in a promise to continue the policy of the older Duterte.
But their union began to fall apart when the supporters of the Duterte family called for the expulsion of Marcos Jr. after the arrest of Apollo QuiboloyAn influential pastor and spiritual advisor to former President Duterte.
Their political union finally fell apart after Vice President Sarah Duterte was investigated for alleged abuse of millions of dollars in state funds and has been impelled by the allies of Marcos, Jr. in Congress at the end of 2024.
Since then, the two camps have participated in a comprehensive political battle before the May elections in May.
On Tuesday morning, Marcos -Jr.'s cabinet said he had received an official copy of the arrest warrant “For Crimes against Humanity” by the ICC several hours earlier.
“He is now in the arrest of the authorities,” the government said, noting that Duterte is “in good health.”
In a statement published on Facebook, President Marcos Juan Ponce Enrile's chief legal advisor said the Philippine laws “have nothing to do” with the Dutner's current legal problem.
“His legal problem is caused by laws applicable by the ICC. His lawyers should strive to provide a copy of the MHC charges against him, so they understand why he was ordered to be arrested by the ICC, “he said.
How do Duterte responded to his arrest?
“You'll just have to kill me if I don't comply,” Duterte was caught saying in a video, talking to police officers who arrested him as his plane landed in the Philippine capital on Tuesday.
In another video posted on Instagram by Duterte's youngest daughter, Veronica Duterte, the former leader was seen to ask the authorities: “What is the law and what is the crime I committed?”
“Now explain to me the legal basis for being here, as I was obviously not brought here at will. This is someone else, “he added.
In a statement, Salvador Panelo, a former Duterte legal advisor, described the arrest as “illegal”, saying that the former president was “devoid of legal representation during his arrest”.
Senator Ronald della RosaAn ally of Duterte and his former top police contractor also questioned arrest, filed by an emergency case before the Supreme Court.
What next for Duterte?
In a statement sent to Al Jazeera, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (IchRP) said the retention of the Duterte “marks an unprecedented step towards justice” for justice ” Thousands of casualties of the war with drugsS
“The Dutner's arrest is the beginning of the massacre for the massacres that set his brutal rule,” said ICHRP chairman Peter Murphy.
A group of women, whose family members or children were among the drugs in the war, also welcomed the arrest and promised to “remain vigilant and to see” the prosecutor's office of the Duterte.
“We are calling and supporting the rapid transmission and transfer of the custody of the Duterte to the ICC,” the group says.
It is not yet clear when the Duterte will be handed over to the Hague.
As he visited Hong Kong on Saturday, Duterte had commented on the upcoming arrest, saying: “If it is really my fate in life, that's good, I will accept it. I can't do anything about it. “
In an interview with Al Jazeera, before the arrest was announced, lawyer Maria Christina Kretti, who represents some of the victims' families, said it was crucial that the Filipinians would witness the resolution and the pursuit of the case “so that it is not repeated.”
“If you do not place it on records, it can be the subject of historical revisionism in the future,” she warned.
“In the general context of justice, we must also disrupt the belief that only the rich and the powerful can achieve justice and find that justice is for the poor and the marginalized.”
