Philippines’ ex-president Duterte put on a plane after arrest, daughter says
This follow the International Criminal Court’s probe into killings during his anti-drug war; if transferred to The Hague, he could become Asia’s first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC
[MANILA] Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte boarded a jet on Tuesday (Mar 11), his daughter and local media said, hours after he was arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over killings in his war on drugs.
Veronica Duterte, the ex-leader’s youngest daughter, said on Instagram that he had boarded the plane but the family had not been informed of its destination, accompanying the post with a picture of a small bus on an airfield. “They took dad from us, put him on a plane and wouldn’t say where to. People, wake up,” she posted.
ABS-CBN News posted a video on X of Duterte boarding a jet in a Manila airfield and The Philippine Star newspaper said on X that it had received confirmation from a senior police official that the flight was bound for the Hague, where the ICC is based. Police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation.
Duterte, the maverick former mayor who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested at a Manila airport on arrival from Hong Kong early on Tuesday, in a major step in the ICC’s investigation into thousands of killings in an anti-drugs crackdown that defined his presidency.
The “war on drugs” was Duterte’s signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial, crime-busting former prosecutor to power and he soon delivered on promises he made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of drug pushers and users. If transferred to The Hague, he could become Asia’s first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
Duterte has long insisted that he instructed police to kill only in self-defence and has defended the crackdown, repeatedly telling his supporters he was ready to “rot in jail” if it meant ridding the Philippines of drugs.
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His arrest follows years of him rebuking and taunting the ICC since he unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the court’s founding treaty in 2019 as it started looking into allegations of systematic murders of drug dealers on his watch.
The ICC, a court of last resort, is probing alleged crimes against humanity and says that it has jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes that took place while a country was a member. Duterte and his family and allies on Tuesday said that the arrest was unlawful and the court has no jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte said on Tuesday that her father had not sought asylum from the Chinese government when he visited Hong Kong, nor spoken to any Chinese officials.
The estranged former running mate of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was responding to speculation that her father’s trip to Hong Kong was to seek asylum ahead of his arrest at the ICC’s request.
She also said there was no point speaking to Marcos, her former ally, and said the arrest of her father was politically motivated and all about the 2028 election. She has been widely tipped to contest the presidency in 2028, but is facing an impeachment trial backed by the president’s allies.
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