Ex-Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, Arrested On ICC’s Order

Former Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Tuesday.

Naija News reports that Duterte was arrested as he touched down at Manila Airport, while returning from Hong Kong.

The former President was arrested for crimes against humanity, he reportedly committed the crimes while implementing his administration’s war on drugs.

According to Al Jazeera, upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to him for the crimes against humanity.

“He’s now in the custody of authorities“, the Philippine government’s statement said.

While ICC started investigating him for the alleged crime in 2018, the charge was on his anti-drugs drive, which he ran during his time in office from 2016 to 2022.

Duterte was accused of not following “due process under the law” in handling suspects. Thousands of people, including children, died, according to the complaint.

The former President questioned the legality of the arrest. “What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” Duterte said in a video uploaded to social media by his daughter, Veronica Duterte.

“Explain to me now the legal basis for my being here as apparently I was brought here not of my own volition. It’s somebody else’s,” he added.

In a speech on Saturday in Hong Kong, he had defended his actions as president, saying he “did everything … for the Filipino people.”