EX-PRESIDENT DUTERTE ARRESTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

FORMER president Rodrigo Roa Duterte today, March 11,2025, was arrested for alleged crimes against humanity.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Manila received a copy of the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Duterte.

“Kaninang madaling araw, natanggap ng Interpol  Manila ang official copy ng warrant of arrest mula sa International Criminal Court,” the PCO said.

A prosecutor general from the ICC had served a warrant of arrest against Duterte upon his arrival to the Philippines from Hong Kong this morning.

“Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doktor ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan, the PCO said.

“Ang mga opisyal ng PNP na nagpatupad ng warrant ay tiniyak na may suot na body camera. Sa ngayon, nasa kustodiya na siya ng mga kinauukulan,” it added.

Duterte questioned the basis for the warrant.

“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” he said in a video posted online by his daughter Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

While the warrant was being served, Duterte was heard saying: “You will just have to kill me.”

However, the former president went with the law enforcers without resistance.

Duterte arrived in Manila from his vacation in Hong Kong earlier on Tuesday via Cathay Pacific flight CX907.

The arrest warrant against the former president specifically cites “murder as a crime against humanity” in connection with his violent drug war.

The tribunal has been investigating the Duterte government’s drug war since September 15, 2021. Thousands were killed during the campaign, mostly poor men.