THE Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested after the ICC issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity.
The hardman ex-leader, who claimed to have thrown people out of helicopters, was taken into custody when he landed in Manila on Tuesday.
APDuterte has been accused of committing crimes against humanity by the ICC[/caption]
Duterte was arrested at Manilas international airport@PhoenixTV_News / X
He was detained on Tuesday morning@PhoenixTV_News / X
AFPFormer Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested[/caption]
The controversial leader has previously been accused of sponsoring death squads and claimed he carried out extra-judicial killings himself.
Duterte, 79, was detained after arriving from Hong Kong, President Ferdinand Marcos office said in a statement.
The ICC has been investigating mass killings during the former presidents deadly crackdown against illegal drugs.
The Philippines’ prosecutor general acted after Interpol Manila received a copy of the ICC warrant early on Tuesday.
While being arrested, the ex-President questioned the arrest saying, “What crimes [have] I committed? Prove to me now the legal basis for my being here.”
The ICC has alleged Duterte committed crimes against humanity while as a mayor of the southern city of Davao from 2011 and up until 2019, when he withdrew the country from the organisation.
His arrest warrant specifically cites “murder as a crime against humanity” in connection with his violent drug war.
The tribunal has been investigating the Duterte government’s drug war since September 15, 2021.
Between 12,000 to 30,000 people were killed during his deadly campaign, according to prosecutors at The Hague.
Duterte’s crusade of terror saw him threaten to throw people off helicopters during his war on drugs.
In 2016 he said: “If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter to Manila and I will throw you out.”
He made this bold statement threatening to punish anybody who stole aid after a typhoon hit the area at the time.
Duterte said: “I have done this before, why would I not do it again?”
Two days later he attempted to retreat from his terrifying admission having said, “Helicopter to throw a person? And if that is true, I will not admit it.”
The ex-boss even said he shot three men dead with serving as mayor of Davao.
He said: “I killed about three of them… I don’t know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies. It happened and I cannot lie about it.”
The Filipino hardman led the nation from June 2016 to June 2022.
During his time in power, he had a long-standing policy of refusing to cooperate with the ICC probe, saying it lacked jurisdiction and infringed on the country’s sovereignty.
EPASupporters Duterte shout slogans outside a military airbase in Manila after his arrest[/caption]
ReutersA Duterte loyalist outside the Villamor Airbase where Duterte is currently held after being arrested[/caption]
AFPPolicemen waiting for Dutertes arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport[/caption]
APDuterte previously said he shot three men dead with serving as mayor of Davao[/caption]
He pulled out of the Rome Statute after the tribunal began looking into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings during his rule.
Current President Ferdinand Marcos refused to resume ICC membership after he was elected in 2022 and continued to rule out any cooperation with the ICC probe.
However, Marcos’s stance shifted subtly as the alliance between the two powerful families unravelled.
He said Manila would comply, under its obligations as an Interpol member, if the ICC sought Interpol’s help in arresting Duterte.
INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION
Duterte has been slammed across the globe for his actions while president.
The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, praised his arrest.
Callamard said: “The man who said, ‘my job is to kill’ oversaw the killing of victims – including children – as part of a deliberate, widespread and well-organised campaign of state-sanctioned killings.
“Duterte’s arrest on an ICC warrant is a hopeful sign for victims in the Philippines and beyond.
“It shows that suspected perpetrators of the worst crimes, including government leaders, can and will face justice, wherever they are in the world.”
Kristina Conti, a Philippine lawyer serving as assistant to counsel in the ICC case, said it was possible Duterte would be flown out on the next available flight to a detention facility “nearest” to the ICC.
She said the arrest warrant specifically instructs the officers who served it to “bring the accused to the court, and the court is in The Hague”.
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