Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte boarded a Europe-bound plane on March 11, local media reported, hours after he was arrested on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant linked to his decades-long campaign against drugs that killed thousands of people in the South East Asian nation.
Citing a senior police official, the Philippine Star newspaper reported that Duterte, 79, was aboard a plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands. There was no immediate official confirmation that the former leader was sent to The Hague, where the ICC is based.
Duterte’s daughter wrote on Instagram that her father had been put on a plane, but the family had not been informed about its destination.
Duterte, who faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder,” according to the ICC, was taken into police custody upon his arrival at Manila airport early on March 11, following a brief trip to Hong Kong.
In a video posted on his daughter's social media account, Duterte questioned the “legal basis” for his detention.
The ICC has been investigating Duterte since 2018 over his “war on drugs,” which saw thousands of people killed when he was president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 and longtime mayor of the southern city of Davao before that. Many of the victims were impoverished young men.
The Associated Press quoted a former Davao police officer as saying that up to 10,000 suspects were killed by police and civilian hit squads under Duterte during the brutal campaign.
The families of the victims and human rights groups welcomed Duterte’s arrest as a historic moment, with Human Rights Watch saying the arrest was a "critical step for accountability in the Philippines.”
The right watchdog also called on the government to "swiftly surrender [Duterte] to the ICC.”
Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019, but the ICC says it has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed before the country quit as a member.
Duterte served as mayor of Davao for 22 years, before sweeping to the presidency in 2016 with the promise of a war against illegal drugs that had plagued the nation.
He has also been known for his populist rhetoric and outbursts against elites and the West, and has called Russian President Vladimir Putin his “idol.”
During his presidency, Duterte pivoted the country’s foreign policy toward China, moving away from longstanding ally the United States.
Dubbed the “Donald Trump of the East” Duterte still remains popular in the Philippines.
Despite his ill health, Duterte registered to run for mayor of Davao in October, while his daughter and political heir, Sara Duterte, currently serves as the Philippines' vice-president and is seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028.
