Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has said he will accept responsibility for his government’s so-called “war on drugs” in a video message filmed on board a plane shortly before he was taken into the custody of the international criminal court (ICC).
“Whatever happened in the past, I will be the front of our law enforcement and the military. I said this already, that I will protect you, and I will be responsible for everything,” he said.
The video message, which appeared to have been filmed on board the aircraft that brought him to the Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity, were his first comments to the Philippines public since his dramatic arrest on Tuesday.
Dressed in a plain white shirt, and speaking to the camera, he said: “This will be a long legal proceeding. But I say to you, I will continue to serve the country. So be it. If that is my destiny. Thank you”.
Duterte has previously said he offered “no apologies, no excuses” for his bloody anti drugs crackdowns which activists say may have killed as many as 30,000 people.
Duterte’s plane landed at Rotterdam airport at just before 5pm local time on Wednesday, and he was transferred to a detention unit on the Dutch coast.
In a statement the ICC confirmed it had taken custody of the former leader, with the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, calling it “a crucial step in our continuous work to ensure accountability for the victims of the most serious crimes under ICC jurisdiction.”
Duterte is the first former leader of an Asian country to be served an arrest warrant filed by the ICC.
In a statement the ICC said its chamber, composed of three judges, had assessed material submitted by office of the prosecutor and found reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte is “individually responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.”
A hearing will be scheduled “in due course” for Duterte’s initial appearance before the court, it said, which will confirm his identity and the language in which he is able to follow the proceedings. It is not clear when a trial will begin.
Supporters of the former leader gathered at The Hague Penitentiary Institution, waiving the Philippines flag and chanting “bring him back”. While rights experts and victims’ families have been overjoyed by the news of Duterte’s arrest, the former leader retains a strong support base, especially in the south of the country.
“I am OK, do not worry,” Duterte, who will turn 80 this month, said in the video message. His daughter, Sara Duterte, the vice-president, also arrived in The Hague on Wednesday evening to offer support.
Lawyers for Duterte on Wednesday filed a petition on behalf of his youngest daughter, Veronica, accusing the government of “kidnapping” him, and demanding he be returned to the Philippines.
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 country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who once ran in an alliance with vice-president Sara Duterte but is now embroiled in a bitter feud with the family, told reporters this week he was confident “the arrest was proper, correct and followed all necessary legal procedures”.
