Duterte's downfall: What we know about the ex-Philippine president's ICC arrest
Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested on Tuesday, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs defined his presidency.
He campaigned on his signature platform that swept him to power in 2016, and delivered on promises that thousands of drug pushers in the Philippines would be killed.
The 79-year-old could now become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), following his arrest on Tuesday (Mar 11) on the charge of committing crimes against humanity.
Here's what we know about the ICC move and what awaits Duterte in the Hague.
WHY WAS DUTERTE ARRESTED?
The Philippines' prosecutor general acted after Interpol Manila received a copy of the ICC warrant early on Tuesday, according to the presidential palace.
Duterte was taken into custody at Manila airport shortly after stepping off a plane following a visit to Hong Kong.
The 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 Sep 15, 2021. Thousands were killed during the campaign, mostly poor men and often without proof they were linked to drugs.
While estimates of those killed vary, prosecutors at the Hague say the number of civilians killed in connection with the war on drugs campaign ranges from 12,000 to 30,000.
WHAT WAS MARCOS' ROLE IN THE ARREST?
The Philippines quit the ICC in 2019 on Duterte's instructions as it started looking into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings on his watch.
The tribunal launched a formal inquiry into the drug war in September 2021, only to suspend it two months later after Manila said it was re-examining several hundred cases of drug operations that led to deaths at the hands of police, hitmen and vigilantes.
The case resumed in July 2023 after a five-judge panel rejected the Philippines' objection that the court lacked jurisdiction.
Since then, the government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr on numerous instances said it would not cooperate with the investigation, but recently reversed course, saying it would be "obliged to follow" should Interpol ask for assistance.
Asked Tuesday what he would say to Duterte supporters, Marcos said the government was "just doing its job" by living up to its international commitments.
"We did not help the International Criminal Court in any way. The arrest was made in compliance with Interpol," he added.
"Politics doesn't enter into it."
This comes amid a crumbling alliance between the Philippines' two most powerful dynasties - the Dutertes and the Marcoses. Duterte's daughter Sara was impeached as vice president in February on charges of corruption and plotting to assassinate the president.
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE WAR ON DRUGS?
Duterte, a former prosecutor who was president from June 2016 to June 2022, has repeatedly defended his war on drugs.
He has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defence, repeatedly telling his supporters he was ready to "rot in jail" if it meant ridding the Philippines of illicit drugs.
Before he was elected president, Duterte already was nicknamed "The Punisher" for his years-long and often violent campaign against drug offenders as seven-time mayor of his hometown of Davao.
He claimed he transformed Davao into one of the safest cities in the country by imposing curfews, enacting city-wide smoking bans and cracking down on crime.
"Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I'd kill you," he said during a presidential campaign.
His unfiltered comments are part of his self-styled image as a maverick, which found traction in a nation where corruption and bureaucracy impact people's lives at every level.
But families who have lost loved ones cheered news of his arrest.
One group that worked to support mothers of those killed in the crackdown called the arrest a "very welcome development".
"The mothers whose husbands and children were killed because of the drug war are very happy because they have been waiting for this for a very long time," Rubilyn Litao, coordinator for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, told AFP.
Police estimate killing 6,000 people in Duterte's anti-drug campaign. ICC prosecutors placed the death toll at 12,000 to 30,000.
In the Philippines, neither Duterte nor any of his top police commanders have been charged with crimes.
WHAT HAS DUTERTE SAID ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS?
When the drug war case was first filed in the ICC, Duterte insisted the tribunal lacked jurisdiction and that he would only be willing to be arrested and tried in a Filipino court.
But he changed tack and said he would "accept it" if he were arrested.
Duterte told hundreds of cheering supporters at a rally in Hong Kong on Sunday that his actions during the drug war were meant "to provide a semblance of peace and quiet" for Filipinos and everything he did was "for my country".
However, Duterte quickly challenged his detention's legality in a clip posted to social media after his arrest on Tuesday.
"What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? Prove to me now the legal basis for my being here," he said.
While unable to run for president again after serving a six-year term that ended in 2022, Duterte remains a major figure in politics.
His daughter Sara said he was being "forcibly taken to the Hague".
"This is not justice - this is oppression and persecution," she said in a statement.
WHAT NEXT FOR DUTERTE
After landing in the Netherlands, Duterte will be taken to the ICC's detention unit where he will be readied for an initial appearance before the court's judges.
This initial hearing aims to verify a suspect's identity and to inform the arrested person of the crimes he is accused of.
Located in the Hague's seaside suburb of Scheveningen, the ICC's detention unit forms part of a Dutch prison and currently holds five other prisoners being tried before the court.
It is also the prison that used to detain those wanted by the nearby International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) including the likes of Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.
Prisoners all have individual cells equipped with computers, but no access to the internet, to allow them to work on their cases.
The cells also have a bed, desk, shelves, a cupboard, toilet, hand basin, television and an intercom to speak to guards when the cell is locked.
They may also use an outdoor exercise area and take part in sports and recreation activities.
Once the charges have been confirmed, the court's presidency puts together a trial chamber to prepare and then conduct a trial.
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