Former President Rodrigo Duterte was formally served a warrant of arrest Tuesday morning over allegations of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC), setting the stage for a first global high-profile trial involving a Philippine political figure.
Authorities from the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and a representative from International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) apprehended Duterte upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Malacañang confirmed this development, saying the Department of Justice (DOJ) through Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon served the warrant upon Duterte and his group’s arrival from Hong Kong. He went through medical examination before being subjected to criminal procedure.
“Earlier at dawn, the INTERPOL Manila received the official copy of the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC),” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in an official statement.
“The former President and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government doctors. They made sure he is in good condition. The PNP officers who executed the warrant wore body cameras. At the moment, he (Duterte) is in the custody of authorities,” the PCO added.
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.
In an online video posted on his official Facebook page, Duterte’s long-time assistant turned Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go confirmed that the former president was taken by policemen to “a camp in Villamor,” the military air base in Pasay City. He appealed for prayers from their supporters.
Go said Duterte is accompanied by his youngest daughter, Kitty, some nurses and former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea. He could not give other details when pressed by reporters as he was barred from joining the former president inside the camp.
Reacting to this development, 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.
“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.
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