Former Philippine President Duterte Arrested by ICC for Deadly War on Drugs

Arrest Upon Arrival

On Tuesday morning, March 11, as he arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila from his trip to Hong Kong, Duterte was arrested.

The Philippine National Police, acting on the ICC warrant transmitted through Interpol, carried out the arrest upon his arrival.

By midday, the former Philippine president was being held at Villamor Airbase in Manila. In a livestreamed statement, Duterte questioned the legality of his arrest, citing the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC in 2019—a move he had mandated while in power.

In a video clip shared by Veronica Duterte, the youngest daughter of Duterte, he is seen demanding that authorities justify his arrest. “Prove to me now the legal basis for my being here, as apparently, I was brought here not of my own volition,” he said.

Veronica has been sharing constant updates on her Instagram stories about her father’s deteriorating health. Despite this, authorities have refused to allow his transfer to a hospital, which she describes as "illegal detention."

By the afternoon, tensions erupted outside the air base and in Duterte’s hometown of Davao City, as his supporters condemned the arrest.

Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, labelled the detention as “oppression and persecution.”

By evening, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed that Duterte had been placed on a flight to The Hague in the Netherlands to face charges at the ICC.

When the ex-president parted ways with her family, Veronica Duterte shared another photo on social media of the plane her father had boarded, with the caption: “This is the plane they used to kidnap my dad,” along with the hashtag “#NeverForget.”

The former president was accompanied by former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, a personal assistant, and a private nurse. On March 12, at 7:04 a.m. (Manila Time), Vice President Sara Duterte jets off to the Netherlands to join her father.

The Deadly War on Drugs

Duterte’s war on drugs was one of the defining aspects of his presidency. Even before his election in 2016, Duterte—then mayor of Davao City—had built a reputation as “The Punisher,” a hardliner against crime.

His presidential campaign largely revolved around an aggressive anti-drug policy, promising to eliminate drug-related crime within six months. He used strong rhetoric, vowing to kill drug users and dealers, often referencing extrajudicial violence as a necessary tool to enforce law and order.

Once elected, Duterte launched “Oplan Tokhang” (a term derived from Visayan words meaning “knock and plead”), a police operation in which authorities visited suspected drug users and dealers, urging them to surrender. However, these operations quickly escalated into widespread killings.

During his administration, Duterte granted the Philippine police broad powers to use lethal force against suspects who resisted arrest and promised them legal protection, even assuring officers they would not face prosecution for killing suspects.

He also used a controversial “narco list”—a list of alleged drug personalities—which critics argued led to arbitrary arrests and killings.

Beyond police operations, vigilante-style executions became rampant, with masked gunmen assassinating suspected drug users in urban slums. Many victims were later found dead with cardboard signs identifying them as drug criminals.

Duterte faced international scrutiny for his measures. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, estimate the death toll from the drug war to be between 12,000 and 30,000, including vigilante-style killings.

In 2018, following reports from human rights organisations of "state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings," the ICC launched an investigation into Duterte’s drug war.

In response, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction and that the investigation was foreign interference. Despite the withdrawal, the ICC maintains it can still prosecute Duterte for crimes committed before the withdrawal, keeping the case within its jurisdiction.

After eight years of investigation, Duterte was apprehended.

The Downfall of the Marcos-Duterte Relations

Prior to the 2022 election, the Marcos and Duterte families forged a strong alliance under the banner of Uniteam (United Team). This partnership secured them the two highest positions in the country—Marcos Jr. as President and Sara Duterte as Vice President.

In its first year, the alliance presented a united front, with critics of Duterte even expressing concerns that Marcos Jr.’s presidency would shield his predecessor from the ICC investigation and possible apprehension.

However, as tensions between the two political clans in the Philippines soured, the Marcos administration declared that they would cooperate if the ICC requested international police assistance to take Duterte into custody through a so-called Red Notice—a request for law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and temporarily arrest a suspect.

When Duterte was arrested at NAIA on March 11, Marcos Jr. held a press conference at the Office of the President, stating that he had no choice but to act. “Interpol asked for help, and we obliged because we have commitments to Interpol that we must fulfil. If we don’t do that, they will no longer assist us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad.”

“This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is part of the community of nations,” he added.

Duterte’s family and supporters rallied against the former president’s arrest.

His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte—who had recently threatened Marcos Jr. with possible assassination during a livestreamed press conference—issued a formal statement condemning her father’s apprehension. She described it as an abandonment of a Filipino citizen and, in an interview, accused Marcos Jr.’s administration of being a “doormat” to foreign powers.

Marcos Jr., on the other hand, responded to Duterte’s supporters by saying, “The government is just doing its job.”

Drug War Victims' Families Celebrate

For the victims of Duterte’s drug war, the day of reckoning has finally arrived. It may have taken years, but justice has caught up at last.

During yesterday’s arrest, grieving families of those slain in the war on drugs gathered tearfully at Manila’s Sacred Heart Parish to mark the former president’s apprehension. Women placed framed photographs of their loved ones before the altar, seeing Duterte’s arrest as an “answered prayer.”

Among them was Luzviminda Dela Cruz, whose 19-year-old son was killed by police in 2017. She described an indescribable relief, believing her son had finally received justice after years of relentless prayers.

Similarly, widow Sofia Joveres viewed Duterte’s arrest as proof that their pleas had been heard, though she acknowledged that no verdict could bring back her husband, who was forcibly taken and killed by police in 2016. Despite their grief, these families take solace in the hope that Duterte’s arrest signals a step towards accountability and justice.

Former Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte, said she felt “vindicated” following his arrest. Jailed in 2017 on politically motivated drug charges, she was widely seen as a victim of state persecution for exposing extrajudicial killings. As Senate justice chair, she led investigations into Duterte’s alleged ties to the Davao Death Squad, which was accused of executing drug suspects. Shortly after, she was removed from her post and detained.

Despite key witnesses later recanting, admitting they had been coerced, she remained in prison for nearly seven years. In November 2023, courts dismissed the final charge, granting her bail and securing her freedom.

“We know all too well the devastating consequences of his abuse of power. This is deeply personal for me. For almost seven years, I was imprisoned on fabricated charges, accused of crimes I did not commit – all because I dared to speak out against Duterte’s drug war,” De Lima said.

She added, “[Duterte] must 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.”

Global human rights advocates have lauded Duterte's arrest as a pivotal step toward accountability for the alleged extrajudicial killings during his "war on drugs." Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, described the arrest as "a long-awaited and monumental step for justice," emphasising that it sends a clear message that even former heads of state are not beyond the reach of international law.

-Asia Media Centre