Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday at Manila’s international airport on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for crimes against humanity linked to his deadly war on drugs, the government announced.
Authorities took Duterte into custody upon his arrival from Hong Kong, acting on the ICC’s order. The arrest follows the court’s ongoing investigation into thousands of extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s anti-narcotics crackdown. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s office confirmed the development in a statement.
“Upon arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC’s arrest warrant to the former president for crimes against humanity,” the statement said. “He is now in police custody.”
The arrest triggered a tense scene at the airport as Duterte’s legal team and close aides protested, claiming they were blocked from approaching him. Senator Bong Go, a longtime Duterte ally, decried the move. “This is a violation of his constitutional rights,” Go told reporters.
Officials did not immediately disclose Duterte’s detention location but assured that the 79-year-old was in good health after a medical checkup by government doctors.
The ICC’s probe covers drug-related killings from Nov. 1, 2011, when Duterte was mayor of Davao City, through March 16, 2019. In 2019, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute, a move human rights groups say was intended to avoid accountability.
In 2021, Duterte’s administration sought to suspend the ICC’s investigation, arguing Philippine authorities were already examining the allegations. However, in 2023, ICC appeals judges allowed the probe to resume, dismissing the Philippines’ objections. The Hague-based court intervenes in cases of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national governments are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects.
President Marcos Jr., who took office in 2022, has chosen not to rejoin the ICC amid political friction with Duterte. However, his administration previously stated it would cooperate if the ICC requested international police assistance via a Red Notice, a mechanism used to locate and provisionally arrest suspects for extradition.
