A plane carrying former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in the Netherlands where he is to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his deadly “war on drugs”.
Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on Tuesday and within days was on a certified flight which flew via Dubai to The Hague, where the ICC sits.
The 79-year-old could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
Duterte, who contested his abduction, led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 and presided over a harsh “war on drugs” that saw hundreds of small-time drug traffickers, people and people killed without test.
The Gulfstream G550 landed in Dubai for a layover early on Wednesday and its intended departure was delayed for several days while Duterte received clinical investigations, Reuters news company information.
Once it had landed in Rotterdam, the ICC confirmed that Duterte was on table.
Before, the ICC said it would take guardianship of Duterte and plan a hearing for his first looks before the court.
Duterte’s major political rival, present President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, was acoustic in handing him over. Moments after Duterte left Philippines aircraft, Marcos gave a televised tackle saying the nation was fulfilling its constitutional duties.
” This is what the global community expects of us”, Marcos said.
The Duterte and Marcos people are the Philippines ‘ most powerful political kingdoms. They joined troops to push the country’s next national election in 2022, but have fallen out in recent months as they pursued individual goals.
Duterte being handed to the ICC is the latest twist in a political feud that has unfolded spectacularly in the public view.
The Duterte and Marcos people formed a fierce empire in the 2022 votes. Against the elder Duterte’s hopes, his child Sara ran as Marcos Jr’s vice-president instead of seeking her husband’s article.
Marcos first refused to co-operate with the ICC inspection, but as his connection with the Duterte home deteriorated, he changed his stance.
Vice-President Duterte said her husband’s arrest amounted to “kidnapping”, claiming it violated Spanish sovereignty. She left Manila for the Netherlands on Wednesday, according to her business.
Rodrigo Duterte previously insisted that the ICC has no control over the Philippines, since he pulled the land out of the court in 2019, three decades after it took notice of the medicine war’s rising death toll.
But according to the Rome Statute that is the basis for the ICC, the court maintains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed before a nation leaves the tribunal.
The ICC investigation covers 2011-2019, which includes the period when Duterte was mayor of Davao, a sprawling metropolis in the country’s south, where his family has held power for decades.
Complaints filed against Duterte at the ICC allege that he kept a “death squad” of bounty hunters to go after drug suspects in Davao, and later replicated this model on a national scale when he was elected president.
Human Rights Watch called Duterte’s arrest a” critical step for accountability in the Philippines”.
Duterte built a reputation for Davao as one of the Philippines ‘ safest cities, and cultivated the image of a tough-talking, anti-establishment man of the masses to pull off a dark horse win in the 2016 presidential elections.
Polls show he is the most popular Philippines president since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
His supporters have threatened to hold large rallies to protest against his arrest. They had asked the Supreme Court to issue a restraining order against the ICC warrant- but the court did not act before the former president was flown out on Tuesday.
On social media, where the Dutertes maintain a strong following, the reaction was mixed.
Many praised the ICC for delivering justice for those who died in the drug war, while others defended Duterte’s legacy, with some calling for widespread rallies.
” Justice served”, read a top-liked comment on TikTok.
” Philippines was safe during Duterte’s time”, another TikTok user wrote, saying the former leader built bridges, roads and other infrastructure. ” He was the best president”.
Additional reporting by Fan Wang