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Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on Tuesday after the….
Kofi Acquah, 10:18, 11 March 2025; 3 minute read
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on Tuesday after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest related to his so-called “war on drugs.”
He faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder”, according to the ICC.
Duterte was flying back from Hong Kong, where he said he was ready to be arrested.
During Duterte’s presidency of the South East Asian nation from 2016 to 2022, thousands of people were killed in a brutal crackdown on drugs. The “war on drugs” was the main campaign promise that helped Duterte become president in 2016.
According to police, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations but activists say the real toll of the crackdown was far greater.
During his time in office, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, which had initiated an investigation into the extrajudicial killings.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022 and became embroiled in a bitter political dispute with the former president and his daughter, Sara Duterte, has decided not to rejoin the ICC.
But the Marcos government said it would cooperate if the ICC asks international police to take Duterte into custody through a so-called Red Notice, a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and temporarily detain a crime suspect.
Duterte’s former legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the arrest was unlawful.
During Duterte’s presidency of the Southeast Asian nation from 2016 to 2022, thousands of people were killed in a brutal crackdown on drugs. The “war on drugs” was the main campaign promise that helped Duterte become president in 2016.
