KUALA LUMPUR – Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday, following an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his controversial war on drugs.
Duterte’s detention marks the first time a former Philippine head of state has been apprehended under an international tribunal’s order.
The ICC had pursued the case over thousands of drug war-related deaths, with human rights groups estimating the toll to be close to 30,000, far exceeding the 6,200 reported by police as casualties in anti-narcotics operations.
His arrest was confirmed by Malacañang after sources earlier informed local news site Rappler of his detention.
Duterte was placed on an Interpol Red Notice before the Philippine National Police (PNP) moved to execute the warrant upon his return from Hong Kong, where he had attended an event with overseas Filipino workers.
A day before, high-level sources had already indicated that authorities were preparing for his arrival.
“If this is truly my fate in life, it’s okay, I will accept it. They can arrest me, imprison me,” Duterte told a cheering crowd at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong before his departure.
The PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, assisted by representatives from the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and Interpol, were present at NAIA to enforce the warrant.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and Justice Undersecretary Felix Ty were also spotted alongside Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre at the scene.
Although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has not directly cooperated with the ICC, it upheld the country’s legal obligations as an Interpol member, compelling authorities to act on the warrant.
Duterte, who unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 to evade scrutiny, had repeatedly defended the anti-drug campaign, denying that he ordered extrajudicial killings.
He insisted that police only used deadly force in self-defence.
The ICC’s probe into alleged extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s presidency has spanned over eight years, surviving efforts by his administration to block the investigation.
The arrest of the former leader places him among a small group of world leaders with outstanding ICC warrants.
Among those still at large are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom remain in power. Unlike Duterte, however, they have yet to face arrest. – March 11, 2025