Former president Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in the Netherlands to face the International Criminal Court for his alleged crimes against humanity.
The plane landed at 11:54 p.m. (Philippine time) of Wednesday, March 12 at the Rotterdam The Hague airport. His arrival there has also been confirmed to reporters by ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.
Prior to his arrival in the Netherlands, Duterte released a video on his Facebook page assuring his supporters that he’s “okay.”
“Okay ako, do not worry,” he said.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in the Netherlands to face the International Criminal Court for his alleged crimes against humanity.
The plane landed at 11:54 p.m. (Philippine time) of Wednesday, March 12 at the Rotterdam The Hague airport. His arrival there has also been confirmed to reporters by ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.
Prior to his arrival in the Netherlands, Duterte released a video on his Facebook page assuring his supporters that he’s “okay.”
“Okay ako, do not worry,” he said.
“Sinasabi ko naman sa mga pulis at military na magtrabaho kayo at ako ang managot, so ito na nga. For all of whatever happened in the past, ako na ‘yung nagfront sa ating law enforcement pati military. Sinabi ko na I will protect you and I will. Ako ang managot sa lahat. This will be a long legal proceeding but I say to you, I will continue to serve my country at so be it kung ganun ang destiny ko,” he added.
Duterte was arrested on Tuesday, March 11 and was brought to the Villamor Air Base upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong.
His arrest had been years in the making, beginning in October 2016 when then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said they were watching the Philippines closely as killings under the Duterte administration were on the rise just four months since he assumed office.
As stated in the warrant obtained by The Philippine STAR, he was arrested for murder, torture, and rape—which are part of the 15 forms of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute—in connection with his administration’s bloody war on drugs called Oplan Tokhang that saw the execution of thousands of suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals.
He left the country at 11:03 p.m. of the same day to go to The Hague, where he would be tried by the ICC.
