THE ARREST of former president Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for alleged crimes against humanity, marks a first step toward justice for victims of his administration’s “war on drugs,” according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered the bloody campaign.
Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday morning upon his arrival from Hong Kong where he spoke before a rally. Philippine authorities are now obligated to transfer Duterte to the ICC in The Hague, where he will stand trial.
Manny Mogato, a UST journalism faculty member who won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2018 alongside Reuters correspondents Clare Baldwin and Andrew Marshall for their coverage of Duterte’s drug war, said that while the arrest brings justice within reach, it is only the beginning of the legal process.
“I think [that] this is the first step in getting justice for the thousands of people who died in the drug war. Justice itself can be served once the ICC prosecutes and convicts Duterte in the Hague. But this is just a first step,” he told the Varsitarian.
Duterte was served the arrest order upon landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The 15-page warrant stated that the international court found reasonable grounds to believe that “criminal acts amounting to crimes against humanity” were committed in the Philippines between November 2011 and March 2016, a period covering Duterte’s tenure as Davao City mayor and his presidency.
“It’s long overdue; he has to pay for all the extrajudicial killings that happened during his time as president and as mayor in Davao City,” Mogato said. “The people, especially the victims, are waiting for an arrest warrant many months or years after the case was filed, so for them, it’s a happy event.”
Duterte’s anti-drug campaign left more than 6,000 dead, according to PNP records, while human rights groups estimate the number to be between 12,000 and 30,000.
Amnesty International described Duterte’s arrest as a “monumental step for justice” for the thousands of victims and survivors of his administration’s drug war, which, it said, “turned much of the Philippines into a nation of mourning.”
“Duterte’s arrest on an ICC warrant is a hopeful sign for victims in the Philippines and beyond,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a statement. “It shows that suspected perpetrators of the worst crimes, including government leaders, can and will face justice, wherever they are in the world.”
“At a time when too many governments renege on their ICC obligations while others attack or sanction international courts, Duterte’s arrest is a huge moment for the power of international law.”
Asst. Prof. Frederick Rey of the Department of Political Science echoed this, saying the former president’s arrest underscores the fundamental principle that all government officials must abide by the rule of law.
“This is a good step, kasi it is a strong reminder for all of us, learners and practitioners of politics, to be constantly reminded that we are, or we should be at all times, practicing our politics within the orbit of the rule of law,” he said.
The ICC began a preliminary examination of Duterte’s drug war in February 2018 after former lawmakers Antonio Trillanes and Gary Alejano filed a 45-page complaint in June 2017, arguing that the Philippine government was unwilling to investigate extrajudicial killings and, due to Duterte’s immunity, was unable to prosecute him.
The Duterte government withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute — the treaty that created the ICC — in March 2019.
Despite this, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber launched a formal investigation in September 2021, which was briefly suspended in November 2021 at the request of the Philippine government. Duterte repeatedly insisted that the ICC had no jurisdiction over the Philippines, but the probe resumed in January 2023.
Arts and Letters Faculty Secretary Louie Ignacio, a political analyst, acknowledged that Duterte’s arrest could be interpreted as politically motivated but emphasized that the case extends beyond political rivalry.
“It’s easy to always connect it with the rift between the current administration of Marcos and that of Duterte because they’re really powerful political actors today,” he said. “But the case is really about finding justice for victims during the time of Duterte. I think it’s more valuable to look at it as Duterte being held accountable for his actions during his time as president.”
The ICC’s jurisdiction covers individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity. The Rome Statute, which defines crimes against humanity, includes offenses such as murder, torture, enforced disappearances, and sexual slavery as part of systematic attacks against civilians.
As a judicial body, the ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement unit, relying instead on international cooperation to carry out arrests, transfer detainees to its detention center in The Hague, freeze assets of suspects, and enforce sentences.
