Ex-President Duterte arrested on ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, February 13, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by police officers on Tuesday acting on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his war on drugs, shortly after he arrived in the Philippines from Hong Kong. 

Duterte, 79, faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the ICC, for the crackdown in which rights groups estimate tens of thousands of mostly poor men were killed by officers and vigilantes, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

The Presidential Communications Office said the INTERPOL Manila received the official copy of warrant of arrest from ICC before dawn on Tuesday. 

The Prosecutor General served the ICC notification for the arrest warrant on Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity after he landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the PCO said.

The PCO also confirmed that Duterte was placed under police custody.

"Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doctor ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan," it said. 

"Ang mga opisyal ng PNP na nagpatupad ng warrant ay tiniyak na may suot na body camera. Sa ngayon, nasa kustodiya na siya ng mga kinauukulan," the PCO added.

'YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO KILL ME'

Before disembarking from the plane, a video shared to ABS-CBN News showed Duterte saying, "You will just have to kill me, kung hindi ako papayag kung, kakampi ka d'yan sa mga puti."

A video posted on Instagram by Duterte's daughter Veronica showed his partner Honeylet Avanceña calling arresting officers "abusado".

"Abusado kaayo na sila. Dili man gud ni dapat ang atong agianan. Lahi atong agianan (Napakaabusado nila. Hindi naman kasi ito dapat ang daanan natin. Iba ang ating daanan)," Avanceña said.

Duterte replied, "Ayaw lagi kay naay warrant (Wag nga dahil may warrant)."  

Duterte questioned the basis for his arrest in another video posted by Veronica.

"What is the crime that I committed? Show to me now the legal basis of my being here... I was brought here not of my own volition," he said.

Duterte's former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvado Panelo called the development an “unlawful arrest.”

“The PNP didn’t allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport and to question the legal basis for PRRD’s arrest,” Panelo said in a statement, adding that there was no copy of the warrant.

“It is an illegal arrest because the ICC arrest warrant comes from a spurious source, the ICC, which has no jurisdiction over the Philippines. The government action will make the arresting team as well as the public officials ordering the arrest criminally liable,” he added. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Duterte was brought to the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Sen. Bong Go, who was barred from entering, confirmed to reporters.

Sen. Christopher Go said Duterte was scheduled for a "medical procedure" on Wednesday. He did not elaborate on the supposed procedure.

Duterte's legal counsel, former labor chief Silvestre Bello III, said they would seek the ex-President's hospital detention.

Lawyer Neri Colmenares said there were three possible places where Duterte could be detained.

“It is possible that he will be spirited out of the country,” he told ANC. “Under the rules of the ICC, once an arrest order is issued, it is up to the ICC saan dadalhin ang akusado.”

“One pwede siyang makulong sa kustodya ng ICC. Two, pwede sa third party.  Or three, sa The Hague mismo,” Colmenares added. 

‘CRUCIAL STEP FOR ACCOUNTABILITY’ 

Former senator Antonio Trillanes, who had filed an ICC complaint against Duterte in 2017, celebrated the former president’s arrest.

“After 8 years, sa WAKAS, nahuli na rin ang berdugo. Sa lahat ng nakasama namin sa mahabang lakbay na ito para sa hustisya ng mga libu-libong EJK victims, maraming salamat po,” he said on Facebook.

Human Rights Watch said Duterte’s arrest “is a critical step for accountability in the Philippines.”

“His arrest could bring victims and their families closer to justice and sends the clear message that no one is above the law. The Marcos government should swiftly surrender him to the ICC,” the New York-based rights group said.

Sen. Leila De Lima said Duterte’s arrest was “deeply personal” for her after she was imprisoned for almost seven years by his administration “on fabricated charges” that she said were brought by her criticism of the drug war.  

“Today, Duterte is being made to answer—not to me, but to the victims, to their families, to a world that refuses to forget. This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally taking its course,” De Lima said in a statement. 

"Duterte now has to answer for his actions, not in the court of public opinion, but before the rule of law. This is how justice should work—those in power must be held to the same standards as everyone else," she added. 

United Nations (UN) former special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, whom Duterte once threatened to slap if she investigated him for drug war killings, said his arrest was "a long-awaited and monumental step for justice."

"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," she said on X. 

She added that Philippine authorities "must now surrender Duterte to the ICC in The Hague to face trial for the alleged crimes against humanity." 

HOW ARREST WENT DOWN

Before Duterte's arrest, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, and dozens of police officers were spotted at the airport.

Go, who waited for Duterte at the NAIA, said: “Hindi kami makapasok di na pinagbawalan lang kami pumasok. Kinansel lahat yung pass namin,” he added.

Chants of “Duterte” from what appeared to be a group of his supporters were heard at the airport around 10:30 a.m.

Police officers stationed at the VIP arrival area of NAIA Terminal 3. Bea Cuadra, ABS-CBN News 

Duterte denied any wrongdoing ahead of his arrest. 

“Wala akong maalala na ginawa kong kasalanan. Marami akong ginawa na hindi nagustuhan ng iba or maybe lahat but I did it for my country,” Duterte said in an interview on SMNI, a media entity owned by his ally Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

“Hindi ako yumaman, wala akong nakuha, pobre pa rin ako and wala kayong nakitang nadagdag na ni-isang nipa hut sa bahay ko. Wala kayo nakita na bagong kotse,” he said.

— With reports from Bea Cuadra, David Dizon, Hernel Tocmo, Karen De Guzman, Katrina Domingo, Rowegie Abanto, and RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News