11-3-2025 (MANILA) Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into police custody Tuesday morning immediately following his arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong, after authorities received an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
The Presidential Communications Office confirmed that INTERPOL Manila obtained the official arrest warrant in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday. According to the PCO statement, the Prosecutor General personally served Duterte with the ICC notification regarding alleged crimes against humanity as he disembarked from his flight.
“The former President and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government physicians who have confirmed his stable condition,” the PCO stated. “The Police National officers who executed the warrant were equipped with body cameras. He is currently in the custody of appropriate authorities.”
Tension marked the arrest as footage obtained by news outlets captured Duterte’s defiant response before leaving the aircraft. “You will just have to kill me if I don’t comply with those white people’s demands,” he declared, suggesting resistance to what he views as foreign intervention.
The former president’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña, was visibly distressed during the incident, reportedly calling the arresting officers “abusive” in video footage shared on social media by Duterte’s daughter Veronica.
Salvador Panelo, who previously served as Duterte’s Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, has sharply criticised the detention as “unlawful,” claiming authorities prevented one of Duterte’s legal representatives from meeting him at the airport or questioning the legal basis for the arrest.
“This constitutes an illegal detention because the ICC arrest warrant originates from an illegitimate source—the ICC—which has no jurisdiction over the Philippines,” Panelo asserted. “The government officials who ordered and executed this arrest may face criminal liability for their actions.”
