Philippine police have arrested former president Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant against him for crimes against humanity amid the “war on drugs” during his time in power.

The ICC has said it would pursue an investigation of suspected crimes against humanity related to Duterte’s role in overseeing a bloody “war on drugs” that killed thousands of Filipinos.

The Philippine Presidential Communication Office said in a statement that Interpol Manila received a copy of the arrest warrant on Tuesday and Duterte was arrested at the airport after arriving from Hong Kong.

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“The former president and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government doctors,” the statement said.

“They [government doctors] have assured that he [Duterte] is in good condition.”

“He is currently in the custody of the authorities,” it added.

A Facebook video said to have been taken from inside the plane showed Duterte talking with police officials, saying: “You will just have to kill me — I will not allow it if you will side with the foreigners.”

The police officer is heard telling Duterte they were just following procedure.

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested in Manila. (AP PHOTO)Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested in Manila. (AP PHOTO)
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested in Manila. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

Duterte’s former legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the arrest was unlawful, and police did not allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport.

The firebrand Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty in 2019 when it started looking into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings, and the Philippines had until last year refused to co-operate with the ICC investigation.

The “war on drugs” was the signature campaign policy that swept Duterte to power in 2016 as a maverick, crime-busting mayor, who delivered on promises he made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of narcotics dealers.

According to police, 6200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations that they say ended in shootouts.

But activists say the real toll of the crackdown was far greater, with thousands of slumland drug users, many of whom were included on official “watch lists”, killed in mysterious circumstances.

Police deny involvement in those killings and reject allegations from rights groups of systematic executions and cover-ups.

with reuters