Arrested Philippine ex-President Duterte to face legacy of thousands killed in drug crackdown

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, who left a savage legacy from his deadly anti-drugs crackdown, was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for the thousands killed in a war he waged against drugs in a political career spanning decades. His detention capped an international investigation into the killings, which unfolded for more than a dozen years.

Duterte again came under the spotlight during a weekend trip to Hong Kong when the trip sparked speculation that he may have gone into exile to evade arrest. He had appeared as the main speaker on Sunday at a gathering of thousands of cheering and flag-waving Filipino expatriates, who jammed Southorn Stadium in downtown Wan Chai district.

Now 79 and in poor health, Duterte campaigned for his political party's senatorial candidates ahead of the May 12 mid-term elections in the Philippines. He said he was aware the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant for his arrest.

He again tried to justify the brutal crackdown as the crowd cheered him on. Police arrested him as he got off the plane at Manila International Airport based on an ICC warrant.

Here’s more about Duterte, his ICC case and what lies ahead for one of Asia’s most unorthodox leaders in his time:

Why was Duterte popular at home but condemned internationally?

Duterte, a former prosecutor, congressman and longtime mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, built a political name with his expletive-laced outbursts against the elites, the dominant Roman Catholic church and the West. He was also seen as pro-poor and a populist, but he is perhaps best remembered for his brutal approach to criminality, particularly illegal drugs.

Under his police-enforced crackdown in Davao at the start of the millennium, an estimated 1,000 mostly poor suspects were gunned down extrajudicially. One police officer involved in the Davao killings who later distanced himself from Duterte told The Associated Press that up to 10,000 suspects were killed by his and other police and civilian hit squads.

The death toll in the crackdown was alarmingly high for years, gaining Duterte nicknames like “the Punisher” and “Duterte Harry,” after the Western movie police character with little regard for the law.

Human rights activists said people were afraid to testify against Duterte in court.

In 2016, Duterte won the presidency on an audacious but failed promise to eradicate illegal drugs and corruption within three to six months, in a country long weary of crime and corruption scandals.

“All of you who are into drugs, you sons of bitches, I will really kill you,” Duterte told a huge crowd in a 2016 campaign stop in Manila. “I have no patience, I have no middle ground. Either you kill me or I will kill you idiots.”

The United States, the European Union and other Western governments raised the alarm over the anti-drugs campaign, prompting Duterte in 2016 to tell then-President Barack Obama "you can go to hell" as he threatened to "break up with America."

What case does Duterte face before the ICC?

The ICC launched an investigation into drug killings under Duterte from Nov. 1, 2011, when he was still mayor of Davao, to March 16, 2019, as possible crimes against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines in 2019 from the Rome Statute, the court's founding treaty, in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability over the killings.

The Duterte administration moved to suspend the global court’s investigation in late 2021 by arguing that Philippine authorities were already looking into the same allegations, arguing the ICC — a court of last resort — didn’t have jurisdiction.

Appeals judges at the ICC ruled in July 2023 the investigation could resume and rejected the Duterte administration’s objections. Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ICC can step in when countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects in the most heinous international crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022 and became entangled in a bitter political dispute with the former president, has decided not to rejoin the global court. But the Marcos administration has said it would cooperate if the ICC asks international police to take Duterte into custody through a so-called Red Notice, a request for law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and temporarily arrest a crime suspect.

China, which controls Hong Kong, and the Philippines do not currently belong to the ICC, but both are members of Interpol. The global court may issue a warrant for Duterte’s arrest through Interpol.

A prominent Philippine politician closely involved in the ICC cases against Duterte told the AP over the weekend the global court had issued a warrant for Duterte's arrest through Interpol. The politician spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the sensitive issue publicly.

Neither the ICC nor Interpol have yet confirmed the issuance of an arrest warrant.

What will happen to Duterte?

In his rambling speech before mostly Filipino workers in Hong Kong on Sunday, Duterte again justified his deadly anti-drugs campaign, saying it safeguarded Filipino people.

Duterte has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, but he openly and repeatedly threatened to kill suspected drug dealers when he was in office.

“What was my sin?” Duterte asked in Hong Kong. “I did everything in my time so Filipinos can have a little peace and tranquility.”

He said he was prepared to go to jail but told the crowd in jest to make donations for the construction of a monument of him — which he suggested with a gesture of his hand should show him holding a gun.

Duterte had said he retired from politics after his stormy presidential term ended in 2022. But in another turnaround from his earlier remarks, he registered to run for mayor of Davao with one of his sons as his running mate to be vice mayor, in elections in May.

In Davao, additional police forces were deployed at the international airport and extra checkpoints were set up in what authorities said were meant to be prepared for any contingency ahead of the mid-term elections. The forces in Davao and elsewhere could step in if Duterte’s arrest were to ignite unrest, which the Marcos administration said it could deftly handle.