Duterte arrested on ICC warrant.

for crimes against humanity

Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by the Philippine National Police and Interpol Manila on Monday, March 11, 2025.

The former Philippine President was arrested at Nnoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

The arrest was made based on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Coyrt (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

The crimes included extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Mayor of Davao City and as President of the Philippines.

Duterte is accused of being linked to the Davao Death Squad, which is estimated to have killed at least a thousand of people since the 1990s.

He is also accused of being responsible for the extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers and users in the Philippines during his presidency.

The ICC’s investigation into Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity is limited to a period.

The period is from when the Philippines was a state party to the Rome Statute, between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019

Duterte was arrested after flying back to the Philippines from Hong Kong.

Allies of the former president protested at the airport, saying they, and the doctor they had brought along, were unable to get close to Duterte.

The arrest warrant stated that there were grounds for Duterte’s detention.

This was based on the assumption that he would not voluntarily show up for his court summons, according to The Associated Press news agency.

The news agency cited the warrant as saying, “Mindful of the resultant risk of interference with the investigations and the security of witnesses and victims, the chamber is satisfied that the arrest of Mr. Duterte is necessary.”

China said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and warned the ICC against “politicization” and “double standards.”

The report is according to a briefing from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

During his time in office, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, which had initiated an investigation into the extrajudicial killings.

The formal inquiry launched in September 2021 was suspended two months later due to Manila’s re-examination of drug-related deaths.

But it resumed in July 2023, after a five-judge panel rejected the Philippines’ jurisdictional objection.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022 and became embroiled in a bitter political dispute with the former president and his daughter, Sara Duterte, has decided not to rejoin the ICC.

But the Marcos government has said it would cooperate if the ICC asks international police to take Duterte into custody through a so-called Red Notice.

The Red Notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and temporarily detain a crime suspect.

Duterte’s former legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the arrest was unlawful.

The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, can step in when countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects.

The prosecution must be for the most heinous international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook