Arrested Filipino ex-president Duterte’s lawyers demand his return

Lawyers for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, believed headed for The Hague to face the International Criminal Court over his deadly crackdown on drugs, filed a petition Wednesday demanding his return to Manila.

The plane thought to be taking the 79-year-old to the Netherlands resumed its journey after a stopover of several hours in Dubai on Wednesday, according to flight tracking site flightradar24.com.

It was not possible to confirm if Duterte was still on the privately owned aircraft, expected to land in Rotterdam around 5:00 pm local time (1600 GMT).

Duterte faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder”, according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

Earlier Wednesday, lawyers filed a Supreme Court petition — on behalf of his youngest daughter Veronica — accusing the government of “kidnapping” Duterte and demanding it “bring him back”.

“The ICC can only exercise its jurisdiction if a country’s national legal system is not functioning,” lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. told reporters outside the court, insisting the Philippines’ judicial system was “working properly”.

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But presidential palace press officer Claire Castro said cooperating with Interpol was the government’s prerogative.

“This is not just surrendering a Filipino citizen, this is surrendering a Filipino citizen who is accused of crimes against humanity, specifically murder,” she said.

Speaking to AFP outside the ICC, Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug war, said: “My clients are very thankful to God because their prayers have been answered.”

“They are grateful to see that even someone as powerful as Rodrigo Duterte is being brought to justice,” Andres added.

But others came to show support for Duterte.

“We stand behind President Duterte,” said Aimee, 28, from Manila, declining to give her last name for security fears. “What’s happening here is unfair and brings tears to my eyes.”

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‘Rotting at the cemetery’

At a church in the capital Manila, people whose family members were killed in the drug war welcomed the former president’s arrest.

“Duterte is fortunate, there’s due process for him,” Emily Soriano said of her son Angelito, at a press briefing organised by a local rights group.

“There was no due process for my son. He will be lying down on a good bed, my son is already rotting at the cemetery.”

For Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Duterte’s arrest marked “a critical step for accountability in the Philippines.”

China, however, warned the ICC against “politicisation” and “double standards” in the Duterte case, saying it was “closely monitoring” it.

The high-profile case is a welcome victory for the ICC, currently under sanctions from Donald Trump.

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The US president is unhappy at the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes committed during the war in Gaza.

‘Oppression and persecution’

Before her father’s departure, Vice President Sara Duterte said he was being “forcibly taken to The Hague”, labelling the transfer “oppression and persecution”.

Her office issued a statement Wednesday saying she had flown to Amsterdam, without offering further details.

A one-time alliance between Marcos and the Duterte family has exploded spectacularly since the 2022 presidential election, when Sara Duterte ran as vice president on his ticket.

The vice president faces a Senate trial on a number of charges, including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.

Duterte himself had earlier taken to social media, claiming the Supreme Court would step in and prevent his transfer.

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“What is the crime that I committed? Show to me now the legal basis of my being here,” he said on Instagram live.

Once in ICC custody, Duterte will be taken to a detention centre before an initial appearance likely to be scheduled in the coming days.

The centre, located close to the North Sea coast, offers each prisoner an individual cell equipped with a computer to work on their case, along with an outdoor exercise area.

– By: © Agence France-Presse