The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has landed in the Netherlands and been taken into the custody of the international criminal court (ICC) on allegations of overseeing death squads in his bloody “war on drugs”.
Duterte was arrested in Manila on Tuesday and placed on a private jet to Rotterdam by police. The plane landed on Wednesday afternoon and taxied into a hangar. An ambulance dropped medics nearby before they wheeled a gurney inside the aircraft.
The ICC later released a statement saying Duterte had been “surrendered to the custody” of the court. It added that “as a precautionary measure, medical assistance” was made available for him at the airport, in line with standard procedures when a suspect arrives.
Nicknamed “the Punisher” in the Philippines for his lethal approach to policing, Duterte, 79, is expected to be taken to an ICC detention unit and then brought before a judge for his initial court appearance in the coming days.
During his years in office, Duterte oversaw a crackdown on accused drug dealers and drug addicts in which as many as 30,000 civilians were killed, usually by police and vigilantes. He is the first former leader of an Asian country to be served an arrest warrant filed by the ICC.
Lawyers for Duterte filed a petition on behalf of his youngest daughter, Veronica, accusing the government of “kidnapping” him, and demanding it bring him back.
Duterte’s eldest daughter, Sara, the country’s vice-president, left for Amsterdam on Wednesday morning to help with his legal preparations.
Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, said the developments were historic, and that it would be an understatement to say that victims felt ecstatic at his arrest. “This is something that’s totally unprecedented in the history of this country … not just in this country, [but] for south-east Asia and even Asia,” he said.
“[Victims’] spirits are buoyed. They’re very, very optimistic that this is something that can move along expeditiously in The Hague,” Conde said. “The victims here in the Philippines have pretty much lost faith in the domestic justice system, which has done so very little in terms of addressing their quest for justice. This is why they pinned their hopes on the ICC.”
Building the case had been a “very painstaking process” for victims, the families of victims and domestic human rights groups, Conde added.
The timeline for a trial is unclear, but campaigners have called for proceedings to begin swiftly.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which has represented the families of victims of the killings, said “victims’ pain from loss” had been, for the day, “eclipsed by joy and hope”.
Duterte’s arrest was symbolic of “a victory of the poor and marginalised, akin to that of David versus Goliath,” the lawyers’ group said, adding: “We still have to press on and work for his eventual conviction.”
“There’s a feeling of simple joy at what is happening, and relief,” said Brother Jun Santiago, who set up Silingan Coffee, a small coffee shop, to help give jobs to the families of victims of extrajudicial killings, and to provide a space to memorialise their stories.
On Tuesday, the cafe offered discounted drinks to customers to encourage people to visit and learn about the abuses that were committed under Duterte’s government. Santiago described the arrest as a “first step to justice”.
Duterte’s arrest was widely celebrated among human rights groups, with the Philippine rights alliance Karapatan describing the development as “long overdue”.
Duterte’s supporters have argued that, as the Philippines withdrew from the Rome statute in 2019, the ICC no longer has jurisdiction. However, the court has previously said it retains jurisdiction for alleged crimes that occurred in the country before its withdrawal.
The official Facebook page of the vice-president’s office shared an image of a red ribbon with the text “BRING PRRD HOME” – referring to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
The country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, told reporters on Tuesday night that he was confident “the arrest was proper, correct and followed all necessary legal procedures”. He added: “We did not help the international criminal court in any way. The arrest was made in compliance with Interpol.”
