#rodrigo duterte

[saywhat-politics]

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by police at Manila’s international airport Tuesday on order of the International Criminal Court in connection with a case of crime against humanity filed against him, the Philippine government said.

[theboombutton]

[southeastasianists]

The ex-president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, could soon become the first Asian former head of state to be tried at The Hague.

The populist politician was arrested on Mar. 11, 2025, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant relating to his “war on drugs.”

Some 6,000-plus people were killed during the crackdown. But despite the controversy surrounding his policies and the end of his presidency in 2022, Duterte remains an influential figure.

The Conversation U.S. turned to Lisandro Claudio, an expert on Philippine politics and history at the University of California, Berkeley, to explain how the arrest could impact domestic politics and whether this could mean the end of Duterte’s sway.

What do we know about the arrest and charges?

The arrest warrant issued by the ICC states that Duterte is charged with crimes against humanity relating to events that happened between Nov. 1, 2011, to Mar. 16, 2019. This is important as it covers a period not just when Duterte was president but also when he was mayor of Davao City – the richest city in the island of Mindanao.

Duterte went on to serve as president from 2016 to 2022, but he pulled the country out of the Rome Statute, the treaty that set up the ICC, in 2019. Nonetheless, the ICC says the alleged crimes fall within their jurisdiction as they were carried out before the Philippines ended its relationship with the ICC.

Duterte is alleged to have overseen the systemic use of murder, torture and rape against civilians.

He is accused of acting as the de facto leader of the Davao Death Squad, a group that was responsible for summary executions and the murder or disappearance of more than 1,000 people in and around the city. But importantly, the prosecution is also of Duterte’s nationalization of the strategy of death squads. On coming to power, he incorporated the “war on drugs” into the policy of the national police.

Based on the way the ICC warrant was written and reporting in the Philippines, it appears that former members of the Davao Death Squad and police officers may be testifying for the prosecution, including, it is thought, hit man-turned-whistleblower Edgar Matobato and ex-Davao City police officer Arturo Lascañas.

What role did the government play in the arrest?

Duterte’s arrest and rendition, for want of a better word, to the Netherlands appears to have taken place with the cooperation of the Philippine government.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the man who succeeded Duterte, held a press conference following the arrest in which he explained that despite no longer being part of the Rome Treaty, the Philippines is committed to supporting the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol. And it was Interpol that asked Manila to enforce the warrant after receiving it from the ICC.

The indication from Marcos was that the Philippine government had no choice but to comply with Interpol for two reasons. First, it is the expected behavior of a democratic nation to comply with international norms, and second, Interpol has helped the Philippines arrest fugitives in the past – including former mayor and suspected Chinese spy Alice Guo.

In short, Marcos is saying it is in the national interest to comply with the ICC arrest warrant.

Is it in President Marcos’ political interests, too?

The Philippines can’t dictate to the ICC when to issue a warrant, or to whom.

And it appears ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested the warrant on Feb. 10, so the timing wasn’t determined by Marcos.

But that isn’t to say that it isn’t fortunate timing.

There is an important midterm election in May, and Marcos is keen to use it to consolidate his power amid an ongoing feud with Vice President Sara Duterte – the daughter of the now-arrested former president.

In 2022, Sara Duterte and Marcos ran on the same ticket for vice president and president. But this coalition between two family dynasties – Bongbong Marcos is the son of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and still powerful matriach of the family, Imelda – broke down rather quickly.

Fighting between Sara Duterte and Martin Romualdez, the speaker of the House of Representatives and a cousin of President Marcos, strained the relationship.

But beyond the personality issues, there has been a divergence in policy between the Dutertes and Marcoses. Notably, under Marcos Jr., the Philippines has pivoted back to the U.S. by allowing American troops back into the country and taking a more aggressive stance in regards to China in the South China Sea.

This approach has been challenged by the Duterte family, which has been closer to China. In the first year of the Marcos administration, Rodrigo Duterte served as a sort of envoy to Beijing, although it became increasingly clear that this was more of an independent relationship between the former president and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

So could this be the end of Duterte’s influence?

That is certainly what President Marcos may be banking on.

The ICC prosecution of the father paired with a forthcoming impeachment of the daughter will neuter the Duterte clan’s power.

The reason this is so important for Marcos is that Sara Duterte has made it clear she wants to be the next president, and given the ill feeling between the two, there is a widespread assumption that if in power she will go after various members of the Marcos family.

With Duterte busy defending his case in The Hague, he will be unable to focus his efforts on helping his senator choices get elected in the midterms. It will also, presumably, end his bid to return as mayor of Davao City – a position that would give him a powerful bully pulpit.

No one should underestimate the charisma of Rodrigo Duterte; he is like a Donald Trump figure in that way. Many critics don’t fully understand the power of his charisma, his humor and the warmth that he displays to supporters – but it propelled him to high levels of popularity while in power.

And the public doesn’t see that charisma in his three children, including current Vice President Sara Duterte. Part of this is due to sexism – there is a lot of sexism in Filipino politics, so people are more likely to support a brash-talking man like Rodrigo Duterte, compared with his daughter. And Sara Duterte has problems of her own – notably the impeachment charges relating to alleged corruption while she was secretary of education.

Could this lead to a more polarized politics?

Your guess is as good as mine here. In the short run, the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is clearly very good for President Marcos. And the small scale of the pro-Duterte protests suggest no great uprising against the arrest.

But what happens next – and how it is reported – is crucial. Filipinos love a political martyr. We saw this when former President Joseph Estrada was arrested and prosecuted over stealing public money in 2001 – his mughshot was adopted by supporters around the country. The same could happen to Duterte – it could go both ways.

[nephyria]

If you ever wanted to see Richard Nixon or any of the other US presidents get their comeuppance for the way they used the war on drugs to kill and imprison detractors, minorities, and addicts, you’re gonna LOVE to hear that Philippine ex-President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested for crimes against humanity. His policy and stance on drug use killed between 12,000 and 30,000 Filipinos.

[unitedfrontvarietyhour]

Coming up with variants on the whole "Weeks and Decades" Lenin quote is becoming as exhausting as living said weeks.

(Pt.1)

[tomorrowusa]

Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa literally wrote the book on standing up to dictators.

How to Stand Up to a Dictator

She spoke to Ali Velshi about what she has been calling the "Philippinization of America".

Ms. Ressa says that given the Philippine example with President Duterte, six months is all Trump needs to consolidate power in his hands.

Trump appointments are something we should be especially wary of. And we should begin now by opposing his wildly unqualified cabinet nominees. If you live in a state with GOP senators in Washington, you have a special responsibility to lobby them to oppose the pervy and corrupt people Trump wants to place in government.

Contacting U.S. Senators

Don't think it can't happen here. It already has.

@dnlfelix

[kavalyera]

how are we feeling now that rodrigo “president of extrajudicial killings” duterte has finally been arrested for human rights charges

I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS

[gael-garcia]

PH criminal expresidents literally doing this to avoid justice :

[allthegeopolitics]

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by police at Manila’s international airport Tuesday on order of the International Criminal Court in connection with a case of crime against humanity filed against him, the Philippine government said.

Duterte was arrested after arriving from Hong Kong and police took him into custody on orders of the ICC, which has been investigating the massive killings that happened under the former president’s deadly crackdown against illegal drugs. President Ferdinand Marcos’ office said in a statement.

The ICC launched an investigation into drug killings under Duterte from Nov. 1, 2011, when he was still mayor of the southern city of Davao, to March 16, 2019, as possible crimes against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines in 2019 from the Rome Statute in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability over the killings.

The Duterte administration moved to suspend the global court’s investigation in late 2021 by arguing that Philippine authorities were already looking into the same allegations, arguing the ICC — a court of last resort — didn’t have jurisdiction. [...]

Continue Reading.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kathleen Magramo at CNN:

Manila, Philippines CNN — Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine government on Tuesday after it said it received an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Duterte has been investigated by the ICC over his brutal anti-drugs crackdown during his time in office that killed more than 6,000 people based on police data, though independent monitors believe the number of extrajudicial killings could be much higher. Duterte, 79, was taken into custody amid chaotic scenes at the main airport in the capital Manila after returning to the Philippines from Hong Kong on Tuesday. Interpol’s Manila office had received “the official copy of the arrest warrant from the ICC” on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications Office. “Upon his (Duterte’s) arrival, the Prosecutor General filed an ICC notification for an arrest warrant against the former President for crimes against humanity,” the statement said, adding that Duterte is currently in the custody of authorities. Duterte questioned the basis for the warrant. “What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” he said in a video posted online by his daughter Veronica “Kitty” Duterte. CNN has reached out to Interpol and the ICC for comment. Previously labeled “Asia’s Trump” by some commentators due to his unorthodox leadership style and bombastic rhetoric, Duterte swept to power in 2016 on a promise to wage war against drugs and drug pushers in the Southeast Asian nation. The ensuing brutal crackdown killed thousands – many of the victims were young men from impoverished shanty towns, shot by police and rogue gunmen as part of a campaign to target dealers. The bloodshed prompted an investigation by the ICC and a monthslong House of Representatives inquiry, as well as a separate Senate inquiry led by the cousin of the current president. Duterte has repeatedly denied the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug suspects, although he also openly admitted to ordering police to shoot suspects who resist arrest. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, but under the ICC’s withdrawal mechanism, the court keeps jurisdiction over crimes committed during the membership period of a state – in this case, between 2016 and 2019, when the Philippines’ pullout became official.

Authoritarian former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrested over an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity.

[libtard-incinerator]

The absolute first thing women worldwide do when given any political power is do everything in their power to make society violent unsafe shithole by protecting criminals and importing terrorists.

[aphroditesknife]

Been seeing a lot of "Kakampinks" (Leni Robredo supporters during the last Philippines election) saying "Tama nga kami" (we were right all along). This is a jab to those who voted for the current President and Vice President of the Philippines, who currently on bad relations with each other, pointing fingers about who is the incompetent one. Spoiler alert: it's both of them.

Anyways, being smug about the election choices that people make does NOT help with the greater cause and what are the real sides of this fight - the ruling class in power and the working class.

Raoul Manuel of the Kabataan Partylist and Member of the Philippine House of Representatives put it so well in the following tweet he posted:

Rough translation:

Friendly advice to allies for good governance:

It is not enough that we are right. We need to reach out to those who can become additional allies, including those who have doubts and are questioned about their decisions. Let's multiply and act together.

It is the strategy of the deceivers to label and consider as enemies those who do not share another's views. Let's be on guard not to be like them.

Potential allies will distance us if, consciously or not, we appear self-righteous or arrogant.

Fight!

[maya-chirps]

Of course I would hear Rodrigo Duterte himself joke about bombing the Senate even if it's illegal to make those jokes and of course his defenders would dismiss it as "people can't take a joke anymore" and they're calling him a political genius for "joking" about killing 15 senators of course of course what's fucking new

[ricisidro]

Today's Inquirer front page March 15, 2025, Saturday

The Philippines former President Rodrigo Duterte appears at the International Criminal Court (ICC); aide claims ‘abduction’

https://plus.inquirer.net/news/duterte-appears-at-icc-aide-claims-abduction/

[tomorrowusa]

Just in time for the US elections, Philippines authoritarian former president Rodrigo Duterte freely admits he employed a death squad.

The 79-year-old, making his first public appearance on Monday since his term ended in 2022, said he offered “no apologies, no excuses” for his presidency, during which as many as 30,000 people were killed in a “war on drugs”. “My mandate as president of the republic was to protect the country and the Filipino people. Do not question my policies, because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” he said. Duterte had entered the hearing walking with a stick and was defiant throughout, often cursing as he addressed senators.

None of what he's proud of doing had anything to do with Philippines law or international standards of human rights.

“I can make the confession now if you want,” Duterte said. “I had a death squad of seven, but they were not policemen, they were also gangsters.” “I’ll ask a gangster to kill somebody,” Duterte said. “If you will not kill [that person], I will kill you now.” When asked by senators for further details of the death squad, he said he would give more information at the next hearing. Duterte also said that he ordered officers to encourage criminals to fight back and resist arrest, so that police could then justify killing them. “What I said is this, let’s be frank, I said encourage the criminal to fight, encourage them to draw their guns. That was my instruction, encourage them to fight, and if they fight, then kill them so my problem in my city is done,” he said, in comments reported by Rappler, an independent news outlets.

When voters fail to keep lowlifes like Duterte, Putin, or Trump out of power they get lawless gangsterism and corruption.

If some shithead claims "only I can solve the country's problems" then it's probable that this person is one of the country's problems.

[kavalyera]

ARESTADO NA YAN