ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — A plane carrying former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court to face charges over his bloody “war on drugs” took off for Rotterdam on Wednesday, after being delayed by a few hours during a layover in Dubai.
Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested early Tuesday in Manila, marking the biggest step yet in the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-drug crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.
Duterte, 79, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC in The Hague.
The ICC’s warrant for his arrest says that as president, Duterte created, funded and armed “death squads” in his war on drugs that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.
In coming days, he will be brought before a judge and will have the allegations read out in court. Prosecutors accuse him of crimes against humanity for systematic attacks that led to dozens of murders.
A source at the ICC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plane carrying the former president to Rotterdam, the airport serving The Hague, had taken off from Dubai, which was also confirmed by flight tracker websites.
Duterte received medical attention during the layover in Dubai. Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN News showed on its website pictures of what it said were police doctors checking on Duterte as he lay on an airplane bed.
A spokesperson for the Philippine National Police said the medical checks were routine “regular vital signs and monitoring.”
About 20 anti-Duterte protesters gathered on Wednesday outside the ICC with banners and a mask depicting him as a vampire. A handful of pro-Duterte protesters also gathered at the court building in The Hague.
Back home, for families of Philippine drug war victims, Duterte’s arrest revived hopes for justice.
“I was surprised and felt as if I had been brought back to life because what we have been fighting for is finally coming to fruition — we are finally getting justice for our loved ones who were taken from us,” said Jerica Ann Pico, the widow of a man who was killed during the war on drugs.
His daughter Sara Duterte, the country’s vice president, boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said in a statement, but it did not say what she intended to do there or how long she planned to stay in the Netherlands.
The ICC’s press office declined to comment. One of Duterte’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in Dubai also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told a news conference on Tuesday that the plane carrying Duterte was en route to The Hague, saying that would allow the former president “to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs.”
The war on drugs was the signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial Duterte to power in 2016. During his six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, by the police’s count.
Activists say the real toll was far greater, with many thousands more slum drug users gunned down in mysterious circumstances, some of whom were on community “watch lists” after they signed up for treatment.
Silvestre Bello, a former labor minister and one of the former president’s lawyers, said a legal team would meet to assess options and seek clarity on where Duterte would be taken and whether they would be granted access to him.
Duterte’s youngest daughter, Veronica, plans to file a habeas corpus request with the Philippine Supreme Court to compel the government to bring him back, said Salvador Panelo, his former chief legal counsel.
The arrest marks a stunning change of fortunes for the influential Duterte family, which formed a formidable alliance with Marcos to help him win a 2022 election by a huge margin.
But Marcos and his vice president have since had a bitter fallout, culminating in Sara Duterte’s impeachment last month by a lower house led by loyalists of Marcos.
