The Philippines arrested firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday at the request of the International Criminal Court, a major step in the world body'sinvestigation into thousands of killings in a bloody &war on drugs& that defined his presidency.Duterte, the maverick former mayor who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was served an arrest warrant on arrival from Hong Kong at Manila'smain airport and was now in custody, the office of his successor Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement.The &war on drugs& was Duterte'ssignature campaign platform that swept the mercurial, crime-busting former prosecutor to power in 2016 and he soon delivered on promises made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of drug dealers and users, Reuters reported.If transferred to the Hague, he could become Asia'sfirst former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.Duterte has insisted he told police to kill only in self-defence and has repeatedly defended the crackdown, saying he was willing to &rot in jail& if it meant ridding the Philippines of drugs.In a video posted on Instagram by daughter Veronica Duterte from Manila'sVillamor Air Base, where he has been placed in custody, the former leader questioned the reason for his arrest.&What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?& he said in the video.
It was unclear who he was speaking to.&I was brought here not of my own volition, it is somebody else&s.
You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty.&The president'soffice has yet to clarify the next steps for Duterte and it was not immediately clear what the ICC has charged him with.According to police, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations that they say ended in shootouts.
But activists say the real toll of Duterte'scrackdown was far greater, with many thousands more slumland drug users, some named on community &watch lists&, killed in mysterious circumstances.The ICC'sprosecutor has said as many as 30,000 people may have been killed by police or unidentified individuals.Police have rejected allegations from rights groups of systematic executions and cover-ups.The post Philippines& ex-President Duterte arrested at ICC'srequest over ‘drugs war& killings first appeared on Ariana News.