MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte has assured his supporters that he is doing fine after formally being turned over to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands early Thursday.
In a video posted on his Facebook page shortly before his plane landed at Rotterdam, the former Chief Executive also said he expected a long legal proceeding after he was arrested.
“Okay ako. Do not worry,” Duterte said. “This will be a long legal proceeding but I say to you I will continue to serve my country at so be it, kung ganoon ang destiny ko.”
Duterte, who was arrested on Tuesday on a warrant of arrest from the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity, said he is being true to his word that he will take responsibility for killings done by his police in relation to the bloody war on drugs.
“This has something to do with the law and order noon, at sinasabi ko naman sa mga pulis, military na trabaho kayo at ako ang managot. So ito na nga,” Duterte said.
“For all of whatever happened in the past, ako na ‘yung nag-front sa ating law enforcement, pati military. Sinabi ko na I will protect you, and I will. Ako ang managot sa lahat,” he added.
Duterte entered the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison at around 2 a.m. (Philippine time) where he will be detained while awaiting trial by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity.
The plane that carried the former President to the Netherlands landed at the Rotterdam The Hague airport at 4:54 p.m. or 11:54 p.m. on Wednesday night, Philippine time.
Meanwhile, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor has welcomed the arrest and transfer of Duterte, saying that it is an “important development” in the pursuit of accountability.
The office of ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said it is now starting preparations regarding Duterte’s initial appearance and subsequent judicial proceedings before the ICC.
“The arrest of Mr. Duterte is an important development in the Office’s pursuit of accountability in the situation in the Republic of the Philippines for alleged crimes committed in the context of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” the office said.
“This is a crucial step in our continuous work to ensure accountability for the victims of the most serious crimes under ICC jurisdiction,” it added.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has alleged based on its independent and impartial investigations that Duterte is criminally responsible for the crime against humanity of murder (article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute) committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019.
“Mr. Duterte is alleged to have committed these crimes as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population,” the office noted.
It further emphasized that in the warrant of arrest issued on March 7, 2025, the Pre-Trial Chamber I determined that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Duterte bears criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of murder.”
“The Chamber also noted that the case against Mr. Duterte falls within the jurisdiction of the Court as the alleged crimes occurred during the period when the Philippines was a State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty,” it added.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration’s drug war./PN
