Hunting the Hunter: Ex-Philippines President Arrested For Drug War

Philippines ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday at Manila airport on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity, for acts committed during his war on drugs, which saw thousands killed and thousands more arrested, BBC reported.

Philippine police arrested the former leader in Manila and flew him to the Netherlands to appear at the ICC, the Associated Press reported.

The court in The Hague had ordered Duterte’s arrest through Interpol after accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office.

Walking slowly with a cane, the 79-year-old former president turned briefly to a small group of aides and supporters, who wept and bid him goodbye, before an escort helped him into the plane.

The former president denied the charges, asking, “What crime (have) I committed?”

He also said on Instagram that he thought the Philippine Supreme Court would prevent his transfer to The Hague but added that he would “accept it” if an arrest were to come.

His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, expressed outrage. “This is not justice – this is oppression and persecution,” she said.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under the Duterte administration. However, the ICC argued that it retains jurisdiction in the Philippines over alleged killing crimes carried out before the country’s withdrawal, as well as killing in the southern city of Davao at the time Duterte was mayor, France24 reported.

During his war on drugs, conducted during his presidency from 2016 to 2022, Duterte instructed police to implement a shoot-to-kill policy targeting alleged dealers. An estimated 5,600 young men, mostly poor, were killed – human rights groups estimate about 27,000 – and tens of thousands were jailed, often without being charged, Human Rights Watch wrote. About 100 children died as a result of this crackdown. Few of the deaths have been investigated.

A UN report found that police systematically coerced suspects into making self-incriminating statements under threat of lethal force.

He refused to apologize for his actions and insisted his policies prevented the Philippines from becoming a “narco-politics state.”

Duterte is still a popular political figure in the country. He is running for mayor of Davao again in May’s mid-term election.

Still, Duterte’s opposition, rights groups, and the families of those killed in the crackdown celebrated the arrest.