Former President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Manila Tuesday morning after spending the weekend in Hong Kong, where he had a speaking engagement with the Filipino community.
Duterte landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, where Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Police Major General Nicolas Torre III were waiting with an Interpol representative.
Reports reaching the Manila Standard said Duterte left the airport immediately in a convoy. There is no confirmation yet if the authorities were able to meet him within the NAIA Terminal 3 premises.
The former president attended a thanksgiving event with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) organized by his team in Wan Chai, Hong Kong alongside his eldest daughter Vice President Sara Duterte. His wife Honeylet Avanceña and youngest daughter, Kitty, also joined him on the trip.
The visit fueled speculations that he was attempting to evade arrest or that he would be seeking political asylum in a Chinese territory amid unverified reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant against him.
The ICC has been investigating Duterte, along with former officials such as Senator Ronald dela Rosa, over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the extra-judicial killings (EJKs) during his controversial “war on drugs” campaign.
Duterte, however, brushed off these claims. In a speech delivered before OFWs, he downplayed the idea of an arrest warrant, saying that investigators have been hunting him for a long time and yet he’s still around.
“I heard there was a warrant for me from the ICC or something. These sons of b*****s have been chasing me for far too long… Assuming this was true, what you’ve been hearing is true, why did I do that? For myself? For my family? That’s for you and your children,” he said mostly in Tagalog.
Duterte, in an interview with GMA Integrated News, also said he has no plans of escaping to another country amid potential summons from the ICC. He said he would deal with this legal battle “as a lawyer.”
“The possibility of me getting caught is bigger here in Hong Kong. I am here as a visitor. We do not enjoy any privileges here. Besides, if ever I hide, I won’t hide anywhere else. I will hide in the Philippines. You won’t see me there,” he told GMA News.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed that Vice President Duterte is also set to return within the week, though specific dates remain undisclosed. The OVP stated that she will be attending the 88th Araw ng Dabaw celebrations on March 16 and 17, 2025.