Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been placed on a plane just hours after authorities served him an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to social media posts by his daughter and a police officer.
A report from DZBB stated that Duterte first boarded a bus before being taken to the plane. He was accompanied by former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Duterte had been under the custody of authorities at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City after Interpol enforced the ICC warrant upon his return from Hong Kong. A livestream by General Filmore Bondilles Escobal showed the former president boarding a private jet bound for the Netherlands.
Before his departure, Duterte addressed the situation through an Instagram live stream on his daughter Kitty Duterte’s account. He maintained that he should be tried in the Philippines if any charges were to be pursued against him.
“If I committed a crime, prosecute me in Philippine courts, with a Filipino judge and prosecutor. If I go to prison, it should be in my own country,” he said.
Duterte also reiterated his stance that the ICC has no jurisdiction over him, arguing that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2018 means the tribunal has no authority to prosecute him over alleged extrajudicial killings during his administration’s drug war.
However, a 2021 Supreme Court ruling stated that the Philippines is still obligated to cooperate with the ICC despite its withdrawal, emphasizing that cases involving incidents before the country’s exit remain within the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
