FORMER PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE ARRESTED ON AN ICC WARRANT MONDAY MORNING

(Photo courtesy of GMA News)

BREAKING NEWS — According to the Philippine government, former President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody by police at the international airport in Manila on Tuesday pursuant to an order from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to a crime against humanity case that had been brought against him. 

The ICC, which has been looking into the widespread murders that occurred during the former president's brutal war on illegal narcotics, ordered police to arrest Duterte after he arrived from Hong Kong, according to a statement from President Ferdinand Marcos' office. 

“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for the crime of crime against humanity,” the government statement. “He’s now in the custody of authorities.”

The unexpected arrest caused a stir at the airport, as Duterte's attorneys and aides vociferously objected to being kept from approaching him after he was placed under police custody, along with a doctor and other attorneys. 

According to Sen. Bong Go, a close Duterte ally, "this is a violation of his constitutional right." informed reporters. 
According to the administration, an official copy of the arrest warrant was sent to the International Police's Manila headquarters by the global court. 

The whereabouts of Duterte's police transport was not immediately apparent. After being evaluated by official physicians, the 79-year-old former leader was deemed healthy by the government. 

From November 1, 2011, when Duterte was still mayor of Davao, in the south, to March 16, 2019, the ICC started looking into drug killings under his rule as potential crimes against humanity. Human rights advocates claim that Duterte's 2019 decision to remove the Philippines from the Rome Statute was an attempt to avoid accountability. 

In late 2021, the Duterte government filed a motion to halt the international court's inquiry, claiming that Philippine authorities were already investigating the same claims and that the ICC, a court of last resort, had jurisdiction. 

In 2023, ICC appeals judges dismissed the Duterte administration's arguments and declared that the inquiry may proceed. The ICC, which has its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, can intervene when nations are unable or unwilling to bring charges against suspects in the most serious international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. 

The decision to withdraw from the international court was made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022 and became embroiled in a sour political spat with the former leader. 

However, the Marcos government has stated that it would comply if the ICC issued a so-called Red Notice, which requests that law enforcement agencies around the world find and temporarily detain a criminal suspect, asking international police to arrest Duterte. 

Source: APNews/Jim Gomez

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