No Immunity for Impunity: A recap on FPRRD’s arrest by the ICC

Article by: Shaina Camille F. Macaranas and Setheleh G. Ramos

Graphics by: John Aaron U. Marasigan

On an arrest warrant ordered by the International Criminal Court (ICC) via Interpol, Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) was arrested after returning from his trip to Hong Kong at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last March 11 on the grounds of crimes against humanity during his administration’s drug war and extrajudicial killings (EJK), which ultimately led to his detainment at The Hague in Netherlands.

What led to the arrest

While the arrest may seem sudden, the first formal complaint against the former president was submitted to the ICC way back in April of 2017 by Lawyer Jude Sabio, legal counsel of confessed member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) Edgar Matobato.

Furthermore, the complaint was supplemented later in the year by Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano with additional documents related to the EJKs.

On February of 2018, the ICC conducted a preliminary examination into the allegations of human rights violations, which former president Duterte responded with withdrawing the Philippines from the ICC as a member-state on March 17 of the same year, but needed to wait one year to officially withdraw the country as per the Rome Statute.

Following this, human rights groups and victims of his war on drugs spoke out against the former president, with government data showing that 6,252 victims have been killed under his regime as of May of 2022, while said human rights groups argue that the total tally is estimated to be around 30,000. International news organization Reuters in 2016 put the earliest start of death squad killing as early as 1998, where most casualties were drug users, petty criminals, and street children.

The withdrawal of the Philippines from being a member-state of the ICC took effect in March of 2019, but did not stop ICC procedures as investigations began during the time where the country was still part of the Rome Statute(2011) up until its official withdrawal (2019).

In the public Warrant of Arrest for the former president, the ICC stopped the investigation in June 2022, and was later resumed in January 2023 as the Chamber authorized the investigation once more. In January 2025, the prosecution applied for the warrant.

The warrant of arrest was issued on March 7, 2025, via Interpol and then carried out by the Philippine National Police (PNP), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and Interpol. According to the released document of the ICC, former president Duterte allegedly committed crimes against humanity of murder, torture, and rape.

The existence of DDS also caught the attention of the ICC as it was also mentioned in the arrest. It came from the former president that the DDS, previously known as Lambada Boys, were used by the president in war against drugs.

The Bloody Drug War

During his time in office as President within 2016 to 2022, former president Duterte launched a war on drugs with the aim to eliminate drug trade and drug use. This mission saw the deaths of thousands of Filipinos with majority of the victims being poor.

100 days in to his presidency, Duterte stated in the interview with Qatari-based media outlet Al Jazeera that there were three million drug addicts and climbing up to four million. Moreover, that he could not act with regards to human rights because there is no budget left for rehabilitation centers or houses to be built, but the climbing numbers forced him to take action immediately.

In the same interview, the former president was asked his regard to human rights as it is a part of the Philippine Constitution. He exclaimed, “I would rather intimidate and strike fear on the hearts of the criminals, just like what happened in Davao, when finally, you can walk the streets at night […] and nobody would bother you. […] I do not care about what the Human Rights guy says, I have a duty to preserve the generation, if it involves the human rights I don’t give a shit.” Then when asked about the ramifications of this matter, he stated that before all the consequences are put upon him, they should have solid evidence that he was exercising mass killings inside the country.

On October 2024, a hearing set by the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee was held to discuss the EJKs that happened under former President Rodrigo Duterte. During the hearing, Duterte confirmed some of the allegations thrown at him, and also declared that this was his command to his people in Davao, “Prangkahan tayo, Encourage the criminals to fight, encourage them to […] run. Yan ang instructions ko. […] Encourage them na lumaban, pag lumaban, patayin niyo ng matapos na ang problema ko.” He added that in his presidency, he gave the same command in Malacañang.

Furthermore, FPRRD was also questioned about the alleged existence of the DDS in which the former president denied. However, later Duterte went on to state that he has a Death Squad, but they are not police, rather, the group is composed of gangsters and that they are all dead.

“I did what I had to do kasi kailangan kong gawin. Why? To protect my people and my country.” This was a statement from the former president as his reaction to the EJKs.

Moreover, his alleged kill squad were given incentives and requirements for daily arrests, leading to alleged unlawful convictions with the police planting false evidence to justify their actions and leaving victims to have no due process in the matter, according to then Philippine National Police (PNP) officer Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido.

"Dalawa yun, quota at reward. Ang quota, bawat araw ang pulis mag-tokhang, puntahan at pasurrenderin sa police station [ang users at pushers] para sila ma-rehab," Espenido stated.

Duterte’s decisions led to the split opinions of the population of the country. However, as time led on, the consequences crept on the former president, leading to the warrant of arrest by the ICC.

The Philippines and issues under Duterte’s administration

Aside from the War on Drugs, former president Duterte also continued on the Build, Build, Build program. This led to increased spending on infrastructures for new rail lines, subways, highways, and bridges. To finance this program, the government led a tax reform program that led to the rise of inflation.

Furthermore, his administration pushed to replace the Philippines’ unitary model of government for federalism as one of his main agendas during his presidential campaign in 2016, aiming to distribute equal power among the different regional governments compared to a centralized one. However, after being seated in office, Duterte failed to uphold the promise of a federalist Philippines and initiate charter change despite appointing a twenty-two-member Constitutional Commission and having a constructed draft for a new constitution by July of 2018.

In addition, Duterte’s decision in tolerating actions regarding the heated maritime dispute between the Philippines and China did not reduce Chinese aggression by the end of his term as their ships still freely enter the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zones and harass Filipino fishermen.

Lastly, the former president’s campaign was riddled with widespread misinformation on social media. From downplaying the drug war statistics, peddling false stories on his political opponents, and accusing news outlet ABS-CBN of running illegally to name a few instances fact checked by Philippines media news outlet Rappler.

These misinformation tactics were utilized and promoted by his supporters on various social media platforms like Facebook and have continued to be utilized until now with ICC’s arrest on Duterte.

What’s next for Duterte?

After the arrest last March 11, the ICC read the rights of FPRRD in a hearing and detained the former president in The Hague, Netherlands to ensure his attendance in the future last March 14. The chamber has scheduled a hearing for the confirmation of the charges to begin on September 23, 2025.

As preparations begin for the said hearing, Duterte’s leading counsel British-Israeli barrister Nicholas Kaufman has called on to respect the judicial process, “…There must be absolutely no interference with the independence of the court, with the judges, and for all the parties.”

In 2011, a pre-trial chamber of the ICC stated that “the principle in international law is that immunity of either former or sitting heads of state cannot be invoked to oppose a prosecution by an international court.” Duterte’s arrest demonstrates that even the most powerful individuals are not above the law and actions done during their rule will be subject to consequences for any unconstitutional and inhumane acts committed, reinforcing the principle of accountability and justice in a democratic society.

REFERENCES:

ICC. (2025). Rodrigo Roa Duterte Warrant of Arrest. International Criminal Court. Taken From: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/0902ebd180aeb09d.pdf

Inquirer, P. D. (2025b, March 12). Timeline: ICC investigation of Duterte. INQUIRER.net. https://globalnation.inquirer.net/266821/timeline-icc-investigation-of-duterte

Cruz, R. (2024). 'I did what I had to do': Duterte defends drug war. ABS-CBN News. Taken from: https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/-i-did-what-i-had-to-do-duterte-defends-drug-war-1015

Philstar News. (Oct, 2024). LIVE: Senate hearing on Duterte admin's drug war | October 28, 2024. [Video] Youtube. Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/live/MxpjM9FZkvc?si=KW-L9RUCMLCsYRNp

Philippine death squads very much in business as Duterte set for presidency | Reuters. (March 2016.). https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-duterte-killings-insight-idUSKCN0YG0EB/

Team, R. R. (2021b, July 2). 12 times social media boosted Duterte’s lies. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/times-social-media-boosted-rodrigo-duterte-lies-false-statement/

Villaruel, J. E. (2024, November 20). Police officer confirms “quota, reward system” during Duterte drug war | ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/police-officer-confirms-quota-reward-system-during-duterte-drug-war-1253