Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manila on Tuesday after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in his drug warrant accusing him of drug crimes, among which human rights groups say thousands of Filipinos are formally executed.
He was detained for traveling from Hong Kong to Manila Airport. Mr Duterte's lawyer Salvador Panelo said the arrest was illegal, partly because the Philippines withdrew the court when Mr Duterte took office.
Mr Duterte, 79, who left his office in 2022, is an enemy of populism and remains one of the Philippines' most influential politicians, and despite several accusations that he was associated with his anti-drug, he is relatively immune.
But Mr Duterte’s arrest could be an important step towards the responsibility of thousands of Filipinos seeking justice for their loved ones. The vast majority of the victims are poor, urban Filipinos, some of whom are minors, people who have nothing to do with the drug dealings, said activists.
Only a few people were convicted of the murder, and the rights group had a total of about 30,000 people.
“I'm glad Duterte was arrested, so we can finally be just,” said Cristina Jumola, whose three sons were killed in the drug war. “We've been waiting for so long.”
It is unclear whether Mr. Duterte will be forced to surrender to the Theatre-based ICC. The case will be a high-profile test for the court, which in recent months sought to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the head of the Myanmar military government, in Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, accused both of them of committing human crimes.
A few minutes before Mr. Duterte's arrest, Mr. Duterte's challenge was.
“If you are going to form an alliance with white foreigners, you will have to kill me,” said Mr Duterte, who got off the plane from Hong Kong.
For years, Mr. Duterte seemed inaccessible. As mayor of Davao City, the second largest city in the Philippines, he has carried out a deadly anti-destructive crackdown on impunity for more than 20 years. In 2016, he won a certificate of law and order in the presidential election, although experts say the country has great problems with no drugs.
Duterte told the crowd “forget the laws regarding human rights laws” at the last campaign rally of that year.
“Your drug salesman, the possessor and the silly, it's better to go out,” he said. “Because I'll kill you.” He said he would save himself and his security forces from prosecution and pardon himself “for the sake of multiple murders.”
During his tenure, Mr. Duterte withdrew from the International Criminal Court, which began studying extrajudicial killings.
Mr Duterte's lawyer, Mr Panelo, said the arrest was illegal in part because Philippine police did not allow former president's lawyer to see him at the airport. He said he plans to file a criminal lawsuit against police and officials ordered arrest.
He added that the arrest was illegal because the warrant “from a forged source of information, the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.”
But the Philippines remains a member of Interpol and when Mr. Duterte is arrested, he can arrest Mr. Duterte on behalf of the International Criminal Court.
When Mr Duterte's single, six-year term ended in 2022, his administration said 6,252 people were killed by security forces – all of which were called “drug suspects” by officials.
Mr. Duterte appears to be at the moment of successor Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., son of successor Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., said early in the administration that he would not work with the ICC
But the relationship between Mr. Marcos and Ms. Duterte was swift and spectacular. By the second half of 2023, Mr. Marcos's government quietly allowed ICC investigators to enter the Philippines.
Last year, the Philippine House of Representatives began an investigation into Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs. The former president refused to testify in the House but appeared in court at a Senate hearing in October.
“I and I both assume full legal responsibility for all the successes and shortcomings,” he said of the Antidrug campaign. “I will assume responsibility for all the police officers following my orders. I should be the one who was sentenced to jail, not the police officer who obeyed my orders. It's so pitiful, they're just doing their own jobs.”
This is a developing story.
Marlise Simons Reports from Paris.
