by Stefan Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
MANILA (Worthy News) – The Philippines’ former President Rodrigo Duterte has been detained after The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest for his “war on drugs,” according to footage seen by Worthy News.
The former leader, who will turn 80 this month, is accused by ICC prosecutors of crimes against humanity over his anti-drugs crackdowns, in which as many as 30,000 people were reportedly killed.
Most of the victims were men in poor, urban areas who were gunned down in the streets, according to investigators.
The president’s office said Duterte was arrested early Tuesday at Manila airport after flying back from Hong Kong. “Early in the morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of the arrest from the ICC,” the presidential palace said in a statement. “As of now, he is under the custody of authorities.”
A video uploaded by his daughter Veronica and obtained by Worthy News shows Duterte sitting in what appeared to be the Villamor Air Base after he landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong.
“What is the law, and what is the crime that I committed? Explain to me now the legal basis for my being here as apparently I was brought here not of my own volition. It’s somebody else’s,” the former president asked those questioning him.
‘DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY’
“You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty… Have you read the case at the time you made the arrest so that you should be guided on what you should know?” Duterte demanded.
Earlier, before departing Hong Kong, Duterte said that there was no need for thousands of police to gather at the NAIA as he could simply submit himself to arresting authorities.
Duterte became president in 2016 after promising a merciless, bloody crackdown that would rid the country of drugs.
During his election campaign, he once said there would be so many bodies dumped in Manila Bay that fish would grow fat from feeding on them. After taking office, he publicly threatened to kill suspected drug dealers and urged the public to kill people with an addiction.
Since his election, between 12,000 and 30,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed in connection with anti-drug operations, according to data cited by the ICC.
Even as his crackdowns provoked global horror, he remained highly popular at home throughout his presidency. His daughter, Sara Duterte, is the current vice president.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
An earthquake of at least 6 magnitude hit the northern part of Indonesia’s Sumatra island Sunday, and Christians living there told Worthy News they could feel the impact in their home.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine just hours after Ukraine and Russia seemed to open their doors slightly to direct peace talks.
Pakistani Christians on Sunday urged nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India to immediately end their fighting as clashes rapidly escalated hours after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was supposed to come into effect.
As tensions rose Saturday between India and Pakistan, at least one widow was mourning the death of her only son, a Christian teenager shot and killed by a Muslim in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Ukraine claims to have busted a Hungarian spy ring operating on its territory that collected intelligence for a possible Hungarian invasion of the country.
A U.S.-brokered truce between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan was violated just hours after the truce began, residents observed.
European leaders visited Kyiv on Saturday to discuss the road toward peace between Ukraine and Russia, and to remember the fallen soldiers. Their visit came a day after Russia remembered the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.