Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating allegations of crimes against humanity related to his administration’s deadly war on drugs.
Duterte was taken into custody at Manila’s international airport upon his return from Hong Kong, according to the Philippine government, which confirmed receiving the ICC’s request via Interpol.
“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for crimes against humanity,” the government said in a statement. “He is now in the custody of authorities.”
The charges stem from Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, which ran from 2016 to 2022 and resulted in thousands of deaths. Critics, including human rights groups, say the crackdown deprived suspects of due process, with some estimates putting the death toll at more than 30,000, including children and local officials.
Duterte questioned the legality of his arrest. “What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” he said in a video uploaded to social media by his daughter, Veronica Duterte. “Explain to me now the legal basis for my being here, as apparently, I was brought here not of my own volition.”
In a speech in Hong Kong days before his arrest, Duterte defended his actions as president, stating he “did everything … for the Filipino people.”
Human Rights Watch called Duterte’s arrest “a critical step for accountability in the Philippines.”
“His arrest could bring victims and their families closer to justice and sends the clear message that no one is above the law. The Marcos government should swiftly surrender him to the ICC,” said Bryony Lau, the organization’s deputy Asia director.
During his presidency, Duterte repeatedly encouraged law enforcement to kill suspected drug offenders, telling officers to shoot suspects or provoke them into resisting to justify the use of lethal force. Many of the cases under ICC investigation occurred between 2016 and 2019, when Duterte’s order to withdraw the Philippines from the ICC took effect.
The ICC is also probing earlier allegations of extrajudicial killings in Davao City, where Duterte served as mayor for two decades before becoming president.
Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, the court maintains jurisdiction over crimes committed before the country’s exit in 2019.