A small private aircraft was seen arriving at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City this evening, fueling talks that former President Rodrigo Duterte will likely spend the rest of the week at The Hague, Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity following his arrest earlier Tuesday.
Vice President Sara Duterte decried this development in a statement, calling it an “oppression and persecution.” She claimed her father was unable to assert his rights before local judicial authorities.
Their camp has filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) this afternoon to stop local authorities from turning the former president over to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which released the warrant through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Law enforcement authorities gathered around the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City earlier this afternoon to ensure security following reports that Duterte is set to depart Manila for The Hague via a chartered flight within the day.
Duterte was arrested upon arrival in Manila from Hong Kong by the Interpol, which executed the ICC warrant earlier Tuesday morning, in cooperation with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
A chartered plane bound for The Hague was reportedly prepared to take Duterte to the Netherlands as security tightened around the Villamor Air Base.
“Flight plan approved on diplomatic mission with priority status for departure within today (Tuesday),” according to information sent to airport-based reporters.
Duterte was under ICC investigation over extrajudicial killings (EJKs) associated with his war on drugs during his administration.
The complaints stemmed from the families of the victims of summary executions and the accounts of several witnesses.
ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said it is expected that Duterte will be turned over to international authorities, so he can be tried for the charges leveled against him at The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC is based.
“When a person is arrested under a warrant of arrest from the ICC, he should be turned over to law enforcement officer of a member state, and is to be flown to The Hague, The Netherlands ASAP (as soon as possible),” she said in a Facebook post earlier.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Security tightens at Villamor Air Base as Duterte likely to be held in The Hague.”