ROTTERDAM – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody in International Criminal Court on Wednesday after being arrested in Manila on murder related to the “drug war” in which thousands of dealers and users have been killed.
In a statement, the ICC said Duterte “subjugated to International Criminal Court custody.” He was arrested by authorities in the Republic of the Philippines… on charges of murder as a crime against humanity.”
The 79-year-old arrived at Rotterdam Airport on a chartered plane on Wednesday. He will be taken before an ICC judge in the Hague in the coming days and taken for his first appearance, the statement said. He was transferred to detention forces on the Dutch coast.
Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, will face allegations of crimes against humanity to oversee dead forces in anti-drug crackdown. He was able to become the first former Asian head of state to be tried there.
The ICC arrest warrant states that as president, Duterte created, funded and armed a squad of deaths that killed drug users and dealers.
Speaking in video shots when he was arrested in Manila on Tuesday, Duterte asked: “What is the basis for my detention? What is the crime?”
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Officials who read Duterte told him that his rights were based on a warrant from the ICC that accused him of murder.
Around 20 anti-Dutate protesters said, “Rodrigo Duterte, who demands justice and accountability, is a war criminal!”
The protesters had a large cardboard mask depicting Duterte as a vampire.
“This is great news for the Filipinos,” anti-dutate protester Menandro Avanes said of Duterte’s arrest and transfer to court. “I am here to show my gratitude to the ICC for doing my job to end the immunity.”
Another protester, Mary Grace Labathan said, “In fact, he’s lucky because he’s going through a legitimate process of law compared to the victims who were shot and killed without justification.”
A handful of pro-dutere protesters also gathered in the court building.
“They handed our president to a foreigner,” said protester Janet Sliman. “They brought shame to our (country).”
For the sake of the families of victims of the drug war in his hometown of the Philippines, Duterte’s arrest revived hope for justice.
The Drug War was a signature campaign platform that swept the mercury Duterte into power in 2016. During his inauguration, 6,200 suspects were killed during an anti-drug operation by police counts.
Activists say the actual tolls are much higher, with thousands more slum drug users, some of whom were on the “watch list” in the community after signing up for treatment.
Habeus Corpus
Sarah Duterte, the daughter of the former president of the country, the vice president of the country, took a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said, but she didn’t say what she was going to do there or that she was planning to stay in the Netherlands.
Sylvestore Bello, former Minister of Labor and one of the former president’s lawyers, said the legal team will meet to evaluate options and clarify where Duterte will be taken and whether they will have access to him.
Veronica, Duterte’s youngest daughter, is set to file a habeas-protection request with the Philippine Supreme Court, and will force the government to retrieve him, his former chief attorney, Salvador Panerro.
The arrests show significant property changes for the influential Duterte family. This helped him build a formidable alliance with Marcos and help him win the 2022 election by a big margin.
However, Marcos and his vice president have since culminated in the Marcos Loyalist House with Sarah Duterte’s blast each last month, causing a fierce radioactive fallout.
His arrest states, “I mean that international justice is not just a Western structure. It’s not just a Western idea. Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing the families of victims of drug-related murders, said.
Anthony Deutsch and Stephanie van den Berg
