MANILA, Philippines — A chartered plane carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte has departed for The Hague, Netherlands, where he is expected to face the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to his violent anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Duterte boarded the private jet bound for the Hague-based court at Villamor Airbase at 9 p.m., according to one of his lawyers, Martin Delgra III.
In video footage shared on Facebook by Lieutenant General Filmore Bondilles Escobal, Duterte was seen boarding the aircraft accompanied by former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
Besides Medialdea, the former president is also traveling with a nurse and a personal assistant, Delgra told reporters in a message.
This comes at least 12 hours after Duterte was served a warrant of arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon returning from a trip to Hong Kong. According to the ICC's warrant of arrest on Duterte, the court's pre-trial chamber found him "individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder" in the execution of his anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Video footage of Duterte boarding the jet showed that officials from the Philippine National Police, including Major General Nicolas Torre III, the Director of Criminal Investigation and Detection, were among those present to oversee Duterte's transfer to Interpol authorities
Duterte's so-called "war on drugs" has been the subject of investigation by the ICC since 2018. Official police figures report over 6,000 fatalities linked to the crackdown, yet human rights organizations believe that the true toll could reach as high as 30,000, including innocent civilians.
There was a last ditch effort from the Duterte camp to keep the former president from being flown out of the country. Minutes before the Supreme Court closed on Tuesday, March 11, Davao-based lawyer Israelito Torreon submitted a petition by Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa that sought to challenge the legality of the ICC's warrant of arrest.
The Marcos administration has repeatedly insisted that the ICC no longer has any jurisdiction in the Philippines after the country withdrew its ratification of the Rome Statute in 2018 and officially left the ICC in 2019. But it has also consistently vowed to honor any arrest warrants requested by the Interpol, of which the Philippines remains a member.
The ICC itself has no police force to execute arrest warrants. As a judicial institution, it relies on cooperation from member states and international organizations like the Interpol to make arrests and transfer suspects to The Hague.