The former Filipino Duterte president is arrested for murders in the fight against the narco by order of the International Criminal Court

The former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on Tuesday when he arrived at Manila International Airport by an order of the International Criminal Court (CPI) for his deadly war against drug trafficking, said the presidential palace of the Asian archipelago.

“Early in the morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the CPI arrest order,” said a presidential statement. “At the moment, [Rodrigo Duterte] It is in custody of the authorities, ”he added.

The former 79 -year -old governor faces a position of the CPI of “crime against humanity for murder” for anti -drug policy that according to human rights groups charged the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly poor men, often without evidence of their link with drug trafficking.

Manila’s statement adds that “the former president and his group are in good health and are being evaluated by government doctors.”

Duterte was arrested at Manila airport after a brief trip to Hong Kong.

Speaking on Sunday thousands of Filipino workers in Hong Kong, the former president claimed the process against him and described the CPI researchers as “bitch children”, although he said that “he would accept” the arrest.

The Philippines left the ICC in 2019 by order of Duterte, but the court maintained the jurisdiction on the case of the killings, as well as another case of murders in the southern city of Davao when Duterte was the mayor, three years before being president.

The formal investigation was initiated in September 2021 but suspended it two months later, after Manila said he was revaluing hundreds of cases of anti -drug operations that resulted in deaths at the hands of police, vigilantes and hitmen.

The case resumed in July 2023 after a panel of five judges rejected the Philippine objection due to the lack of court jurisdiction.

Since then, President Ferdinand Marcos has said he will not cooperate with the investigation.

But the Undersecretary of the Presidential Communication Office, Claire Castro, said on Sunday that if Interpol “asks for the necessary assistance from the government, would be obliged to comply.”

Duterte has great popularity among many Filipinos who supported their drastic way of combating crime, and still has political influence.

He is currently postulated to return to be mayor of his Davao bastion in the May elections.

During his government, Duterte asked the police to shoot to kill drug trafficking suspects if their lives ran risk, and insisted that the hard hand policy saved families and would prevent the Philippines from becoming a “narco -esteem.”