After receiving an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity, delivered by Interpol, the Philippine authorities arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on March 11, 2025. Duterte was transferred to the ICC in The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day. His first appearance at the ICC took place on Friday, March 14, where he was informed of the crimes he is accused of and his rights as a defendant.
“Duterte’s arrest is a historic step towards justice” for the victims and their families in Duterte’s so-called ‘war on drugs.’ Numerous human rights organizations and those affected celebrated Duterte’s arrest as a “long overdue victory against impunity.”
Duterte is facing charges before the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with thousands of extrajudicial killings in his so-called “war on drugs” between 2011 and 2019, when Duterte was mayor and vice mayor of Davao City and president of the Philippines.
“This momentous event sends a message to human rights abusers everywhere that one day they could be held to account,” Human Rights Watch said.
The latest published government statistics on killings in the course of anti-drug operations by state security forces cite 6,252 cases between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2022. The Philippine Commission on Human Rights estimated at least 27,000 cases of extrajudicial executions in the context of the “war on drugs” between 2016 and 2018, including killings by state security forces and unidentified perpetrators.
In January 2023, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber decided to resume investigations in the Philippines after the Philippine government appealed, claiming that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction over the situation in the country following the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC in 2019. The government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. changed its position on the ICC’s investigations in the Philippines. Initially, Marcos Jr. continued to question the jurisdiction of the ICC. The slowly emerging political rift between the Marcos and Duterte camps in 2024 seemed to soften the Philippine president’s hardline position on the ICC. In November 2024, the Marcos Jr. government declared its support for an ICC arrest warrant if Interpol handed it over.
The relevance and functionality of the ICC and the West’s commitment to international law were called into question internationally, particularly in the context of the arrest warrants against Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also in light of the US decision to impose sanctions against the ICC in February 2025, the arrest and indictment of Rodrigo Duterte underscores the importance of the ICC in ensuring accountability for serious crimes.
For many human rights organizations, however, Duterte’s arrest is also only a “half-victory” for the victims and families. In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement pointed out that other accomplices are also being held accountable for the alleged crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch called on the Marcos Jr. administration to take further steps now to address ongoing human rights violations in the Philippines. This includes the Philippines rejoining the ICC, as Philippine Congresswoman Geraldine Roman recently called for.
On March 12, 2025, Duterte’s daughter Veronika filed a petition with the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus to take action against the Philippine government for allegedly unlawfully detaining her father. In doing so, Veronika Duterte demanded his return to the Philippines.
Photo © Marcelino Pascua