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Journalism of Courage
Former PhilippineS President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on Tuesday on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was investigating allegations that “crimes against humanity” were committed during his so-called “war on drugs”.
The ICC, which has 125 countries as its members, has international jurisdiction over four types of crimes: crimes against humanity, genocide, crimes of aggression, and war crimes. It can step in when countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects for these crimes.
Allegations against Duterte
Before becoming President in 2016, Duterte was the mayor of Davao, a sprawling southern metropolis, for 22 years, and gained fame for making the city one of the country’s safest from street crimes. He used Davao’s reputation to cast himself as a tough-talking anti-establishment politician ahead of the 2016 elections.
In the final campaign rally that year, Duterte told the crowd to “forget the laws on human rights”. He added, “You drug pushers, holdup men and do-nothings, you better go out… Because I’ll kill you.”
During his six-year term, which ended in 2022, more than 6,000 suspects were killed by police or unknown assailants as part of his “war on drugs” campaign. A UN report subsequently revealed that most of the victims were young, poor urban males, and that “the police who do not need search or arrest warrants to conduct house raids, systematically forced suspects to make self-incriminating statements or risk facing lethal force,” according to a report by the BBC.
Duterte, who denied all the accusations, also withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019. The international court first took note of the alleged abuses in 2016, and started its investigation in 2021. It covered cases from November 2011, when Duterte was mayor of Davao, to March 2019.
The political angle
Duterte’s arrest has come at a time when his relationship with President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has deteriorated sharply. Marcos rose to the presidency after forming a political alliance with Duterte’s daughter Sara, who was elected as his Vice President. However, Marcos and Sara got embroiled in a political tussle, especially due to their differing views on the relationship of the Philippines with the US and China.
The Philippines had decided to not rejoin the ICC but the Marcos government in 2023 quietly allowed the court’s investigators to enter the Philippines. Last year, the country’s House of Representatives also started an inquiry into Duterte’s drug war.
Duterte remains a popular leader in the country, and his daughter is expected to be a presidential candidate in 2028.
