Dute79, he was investigated by the CPI for its brutal Anti -drug war in which more than 6,000 people died, according to police data; although independent observers and non -governmental organizations They believe that the number of extrajudicial executions could reach 30,000.
The investigation of the CPI began In 2021 and occurred despite the fact that Duterte retired Philippines from the agency in 2019 to avoid being involved in a process.
The Learjet that transports former President Filipino Rodrigo Duterte takes off from the Villamor Air Base in Pasay, Manila, on March 11, 2025. (Photo of Jam Sta Rosa / AFP).
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Sara Dutertewho is vice president of the country, accused the executive of the president and former ally FERDINAND MARCOS JR., To deliver to a Filipino citizen “to foreign powers” in a “flagrant affronts our sovereignty.”
Marcos Jr. He replied that he contributed to stop the ex -president because “Interpol asked for help” and not for a “political persecution.”
“The plane is on the route to Haguewhich will allow the former president to face charges for crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war against drugs ”Marcos Jr. said at a press conference
CPI: He directed a death squad
The bodies of alleged drug traffickers lie on the ground after an anti -drug police operation in Manila on August 17, 2017. (Photo of Noel Celis / AFP).
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The CPI room issued the arrest warrant “secret” On March 7, something that was just confirmed by that Court on Tuesday, once Dute I was already on the plane to Netherlands.
In the order it is considered that “there are reasonable reasons to believe that Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against murder humanity”, According to the EFE agency, which had access to the document thanks to the National Law of Lawyers for the People (NUPL), which supported the complaint with the ICC.
The document was sent by the CPI to Interpol to proceed with the arrest of Dutereported the digital medium Rappler, founded by the journalist and Nobel Peace Prize María Ressa, who has given broad coverage to the bloody war against the ex -president’s drugs.
In its order, the Chamber cited a “non -exhaustive” list of murders of alleged criminals: 19 At the hands of a death squad in the city of Davaoof which Dute He was mayor for 22 years; and another 24 “for or under the supervision of members of the security forces” during his term as president (2016-2022).
The CPI room said He has sufficient elements to conclude that Duterte directed a death squad formed by police and criminals known as Davao Death Squad either DDS.
In this image taken on July 8, 2016, police officers investigate the body of an alleged drug dealer with a face covered with packing tape and a sign that says “I am a camel”, in a street in Manila. (Photo of Noel Celis / AFP).
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The EFE agency recalled that the own Dute admitted to having directed death squads in Davao before a committee of the Filipino Senate last November, in confusing statements in which he assured that It was formed by “gangsters” who killed criminals.
He said he had never ordered the death squad That he will kill defenseless suspects, but he told the group “to encourage criminals to get back, and when they will get back, they will kill them so that my problems in the city will be resolved.”
According to the document published by Rappler, The ICC considered that Duterte “instructed and authorized the commission of violent acts against criminal cases” and offered “financial incentives and promotions to police officers and murderers to kill suspects”among other “essential contributions” of the Entricas President to the Commission of Crimes against Humanity.
What will happen now?
Rodrigo Duterte speaks during the annual discourse on the State of the Nation in the House of Representatives in Manila on July 26, 2023. (Photo of Jam Sta Rosa / Pool / AFP).
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Michelle Reyes Milksenior lawyer of the International Justice Division of Human Rights Watchhe said to Commerce that after the arrest of Dutethe message for the rulers of the world is that Before the ICC nobody is above the law, nor do they fit immunities before said court.
On the argument of the defense of Dute that no action of the CPI is reached because Philippines He retired in 2019 of that agency, Reyes said that in that case the International Law Rules.
“Philippines It was part of the Rome Statute, it already retired, but at the time these actions were given by Duterte, the country was under the jurisdiction of the Rome Statute, so the investigation was given and now the arrest and subsequent trial order, ”he said.
“Duterte joins a list of other people required by the International Criminal Court under an arrest warrant and occupying the highest charges, such as Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and Vladimir Putin in Russia,” recalled the lawyer.
For its part, Bryony Lau, Deputy Director for Asia of Human Rights WatchHe said that “Duterte’s arrest is a key advance towards accountability in the Philippines. Duterte faces humanity charges related to extrajudicial executions of thousands of people between 2011 and 2019, within the framework of their so -called ‘War on Drugs’. His arrest represents for the victims and their families one more step towards justice, and clearly emphasizes the idea that no one is above the law. ”
Regarding the legislation that will be applied to Dute In the trial that awaits you, Michelle Reyes noted that she will be prosecuted and sentenced under the Rome Statute.
The CPI judges genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations.
The Court can impose prison sentences up to 30 years and, in exceptional cases, life imprisonment.
During the trial, he explained KingsDuterte will be held in the jail that the ICC has.
He added that if he is convicted, Dute You can fulfill your grief in a country that has signed a sentence compliance agreement.
The war that Duterte launched
Rodrigo Duterte kisses the national flag while heading to its supporters during an electoral campaign rally before the presidential elections in the Philippines, on May 7, 2016. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan / AFP).
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Duterte won the 2016 elections with a wide advantage. In the campaign he had promised to launch a war against drugs. He highlighted his 22 years of management as mayor of Davaoa city of 1.5 million inhabitants, where he applied a hard hand policy against crime.
In his last electoral speech he told a multitude of followers that “He will forget human rights laws.”
“If I arrive at the presidential palace, I will do the same thing I did as mayor. You, drug traffickers, robbers and living, you better leave. Because as mayor, I will kill them”, express.
When he assumed as president, he launched raids and He ordered the police to shoot to kill if the suspects opposed resistance.
According to EFE, Only in the first 100 days of his mandate about 3,700 dead were countedaccording to official data, including small drug vendors, leaders of criminal organizations and addicts.
The relatives of the victims of the war on the drugs of former president Rodrigo Duterte take hand in front of the portraits of their loved ones during a Mass in Manila on March 11, 2025. (Photo of Ted Aljibe / AFP).
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A year later, the deaths exceeded 4,000 and massive protests began to reject the continuity of operations and denounce the performance of parapolial groups. Duterte did not yield.
Human Rights Defense NGOs began promoting international investigations after the increase in complaints about extrajudicial executions.
In 2019, Duterte retired Philippines from the Rome Statutethe foundational treaty of the ICC, to avoid the jurisdiction of international justice. Nor did he let the court in the Court.
Finally, in 2021 the CPI officially initiated investigations against Dute for supposedly committed abuses in the fight against drugs.
