Former Philippines president, whose 'war on drugs' killed over 6,200, says he will 'accept' possible ICC arrest

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte indicated to a crowd of Filipino supporters in Hong Kong on Mar. 9. 2025, that he is prepared to be arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“If that’s my fate, that’s fine I will accept it. We can’t do anything if I’m arrested or imprisoned,” he said.

Duterte said that the ICC had been "chasing [him] for a long time".

In October 2024, he gave his first testimony to the ICC regarding alleged crimes against humanity during his so-called "war on drugs".

Philippine Presidential Communications Office Secretary Jay Ruiz told media on Mar. 9 that an arrest warrant had been issued by the ICC, Bloomberg reported, though the ICC has yet to make an official announcement.

According to the South China Morning Post, on Mar. 9, Duterte defended his war on drugs:

"What did I do wrong? I did everything that I could in my time, so there could be a little bit of quiet and peace for the lives of the Filipinos."

Duterte added that nothing could be done if he were to be arrested, but that a "monument" could be made of him when he gets out of jail.

The 79-year-old was speaking at a rally at Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai. Also in attendance at the event was his daughter, Sara Duterte, who is Vice President of the Philippines.

Rodrigo Duterte had flown to Hong Kong amidst rumours of an arrest issuance by the ICC, Inquirer reported.

China is not a state party to the 2002 Rome Statute, the foundational document of the ICC.

Drug war killed thousands

Duterte was the Philippine president from 2016 to 2022, during which time he waged a deadly extra-judicial crackdown on drugs.

According to Human Rights Watch, over 12,000 Filipinos have died as a result of this war, with at least 2,555 of the killings attributed to the Philippine National Police.

The official figure, as reported by the BBC, places the death count at slightly over 6,200.

Philippine police, in turn, claim that many of their victims were drug lords or peddlers, and that they were acting in "self-defence".

Families of the victims, however, have come forward to share that they were "simply in the wrong place at the wrong time", the BBC wrote.

Duterte revealed during his testimony to the ICC that he had set up a so-called "death squad", the BBC reported, to prosecute his war.

Duterte added that his death squad consisted of "gangsters", not police officers, who Duterte threatened to kill if they did not carry out killings as he ordered.

Duterte defiantly doubled down on his measures during his testimony. Claiming that many criminals had returned after he stopped waging the war, he added:

"If given another chance, I'll wipe all of you."

Philippine government to cooperate with Interpol

Malacañang, the office of the Philippine president, told Inquirer that it was ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Duterte.

Earlier in January, Executive Secretary of the Philippines Lucas Bersamin indicated that the Philippines would act "favourably or positively" to an ICC arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant, if issued, would come at a time of an escalating feud between Duterte and the camp of the current Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Sara Duterte, in November 2024, appeared to threaten to assassinate Marcos Jr, the BBC reported.

In February 2025, she was impeached over a plot to assassinate the Philippine president as well as large-scale corruption, Associated Press reported.

Top photo from PDP Laban/Facebook & Canva