On the morning of the 11th March, the former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila upon his returning from Hong Kong, where he had been visiting overseas Filipino Workers ahead of the upcoming elections. In the evening of the same day, he was put on a flight to Hague where he will be summoned to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Duterte took over the presidential office in 2016 and launched a controversial anti-drugs-campaign, that resulted in 12,000-30,000 killings of civilians according to the ICC. These actions were criticized by the ICC and several human rights groups. In response, Duterte withdrew the country from the Rome Statue, which is the treaty for ICC, and therefore from ICC in 2019. In 2021, the ICC started an investigation covering two periods: from November 2011 to June 2016, when Duterte served as the major of Davao City, and from July 2016 to March 2019, when Duterte was president of the Philippines and the country was still part of the ICC. In the past, Duterte has shown no remorse or regret for what happened in the anti-drugs-campaign.
When Interpol asked the Philippines’ current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to arrest Duterte, he agreed to cooperate, contrary to previous statements. However, he emphasized that he has no plans to rejoin the ICC. Recently, there has been a feud between the two camps of Duterte and Marcos, which worsened after Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte resigned as Vice-President from Marcos’ cabinet in 2024. The arrest has intensified this ongoing conflict. The current situation in the country is precarious and political unrest is a realistic possibility. These events will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the upcoming midterm election in May.
by Intern Anika
Reference
https://thediplomat.com/2025/