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Is ICC arrest of Philippines’ Duterte the death knell for his political dynasty?
Analysts say President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s decision to cooperate with the ICC’s arrest warrant is a strategic move aimed at neutralising his rival
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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested at Manila’s international airport at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a shocking turn of events that analysts have said marks the “beginning of the end” of his political dynasty.
While Duterte loyalists condemned Tuesday’s arrest as illegal and vowed mass protests, observers said President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s willingness to cooperate with the ICC’s arrest warrant was a political master stroke, effectively neutralising a key rival and potentially sealing the fate of Duterte’s once-dominant clan.
The former president was arrested after arriving from Hong Kong and police took him into custody in connection with the crimes-against-humanity case filed against him by the ICC’s prosecutor. The court had been investigating the mass killings that happened during Duterte’s deadly crackdown against illegal drugs, Marcos Jnr’s office said in a statement.
“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for the crime of crimes against humanity,” the government statement said. “He’s now in the custody of authorities.”
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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte arrested under ICC warrant
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte arrested under ICC warrant
Marcos Jnr said on Tuesday a plane carrying Duterte has left Philippine airspace headed for The Hague.
Duterte has boarded a flight bound for the Hague, his lawyer Martin Delgra said on Tuesday.
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