Berliner Boersenzeitung - Duterte says 'responsible' as lands in Netherlands to face ICC charges

EUR -
AED 4.297145
AFN 80.514189
ALL 97.785062
AMD 447.604669
ANG 2.093828
AOA 1072.828477
ARS 1490.487912
AUD 1.796502
AWG 2.108804
AZN 1.988028
BAM 1.957486
BBD 2.353467
BDT 141.762105
BGN 1.957455
BHD 0.441058
BIF 3473.584104
BMD 1.169933
BND 1.494998
BOB 8.054282
BRL 6.514886
BSD 1.165624
BTN 100.570924
BWP 16.653348
BYN 3.814451
BYR 22930.681112
BZD 2.341357
CAD 1.600836
CDF 3376.425952
CHF 0.932781
CLF 0.029099
CLP 1116.641972
CNY 8.395422
CNH 8.396338
COP 4721.052863
CRC 588.068828
CUC 1.169933
CUP 31.003217
CVE 110.364778
CZK 24.629434
DJF 207.352145
DKK 7.465247
DOP 70.496202
DZD 151.881856
EGP 57.362318
ERN 17.548991
ETB 161.976833
FJD 2.636797
FKP 0.866844
GBP 0.867107
GEL 3.170194
GGP 0.866844
GHS 12.181013
GIP 0.866844
GMD 83.65191
GNF 10113.062475
GTQ 8.952093
GYD 243.780396
HKD 9.183884
HNL 30.502317
HRK 7.535068
HTG 152.942585
HUF 399.224916
IDR 19090.669476
ILS 3.924416
IMP 0.866844
INR 101.064985
IQD 1526.941319
IRR 49268.786988
ISK 142.404159
JEP 0.866844
JMD 186.370616
JOD 0.829505
JPY 172.58438
KES 151.214174
KGS 102.310986
KHR 4675.747647
KMF 493.711538
KPW 1052.975712
KRW 1622.784363
KWD 0.357239
KYD 0.971353
KZT 617.952831
LAK 25138.082171
LBP 104436.540711
LKR 351.718962
LRD 233.701284
LSL 20.681067
LTL 3.454507
LVL 0.70768
LYD 6.326557
MAD 10.538027
MDL 19.809401
MGA 5184.110792
MKD 61.61307
MMK 2455.633802
MNT 4199.214209
MOP 9.423878
MRU 46.362962
MUR 53.220355
MVR 18.017096
MWK 2021.002574
MXN 21.866163
MYR 4.949397
MZN 74.828136
NAD 20.681067
NGN 1788.686529
NIO 42.894197
NOK 11.912752
NPR 160.896272
NZD 1.967184
OMR 0.449857
PAB 1.165654
PEN 4.156151
PGK 4.898906
PHP 66.715995
PKR 332.029338
PLN 4.252511
PYG 8864.787139
QAR 4.260652
RON 5.070255
RSD 117.185091
RUB 91.43491
RWF 1684.149859
SAR 4.388967
SBD 9.693004
SCR 17.057193
SDG 702.566756
SEK 11.210792
SGD 1.499748
SHP 0.919383
SLE 26.908132
SLL 24532.908576
SOS 666.002496
SRD 42.907303
STD 24215.245008
STN 24.519548
SVC 10.198959
SYP 15211.298754
SZL 20.672569
THB 37.80082
TJS 11.14908
TMT 4.106464
TND 3.424596
TOP 2.740098
TRY 47.28962
TTD 7.912951
TWD 34.446911
TZS 3035.975065
UAH 48.781282
UGX 4176.776129
USD 1.169933
UYU 47.062548
UZS 14660.878629
VES 136.841176
VND 30587.305732
VUV 138.951441
WST 3.084099
XAF 656.483176
XAG 0.030117
XAU 0.000345
XCD 3.161802
XCG 2.100645
XDR 0.816447
XOF 656.533722
XPF 119.331742
YER 281.895226
ZAR 20.669551
ZMK 10530.80464
ZMW 26.80855
ZWL 376.717855
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Advertisement Image
Duterte says 'responsible' as lands in Netherlands to face ICC charges
Duterte says 'responsible' as lands in Netherlands to face ICC charges / Photo: Holmes CHAN - AFP

Duterte says 'responsible' as lands in Netherlands to face ICC charges

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he was "responsible" as he arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday to face International Criminal Court charges of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs.

Advertisement Image

Text size:

The ICC, based in The Hague, has said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Duterte committed the crime against humanity of murder as an "indirect co-perpetrator" during the anti-drug campaign that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of people.

"I am the one who led our law enforcement and military. I said that I will protect you and I will be responsible for all of this," Duterte said in a video shared on his and a close advisor's Facebook pages as he was about to land in The Netherlands.

"I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible," said the 79-year-old, the first Asian former head of state to face charges at the ICC.

The court rules on the world's worst crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The ICC confirmed that Duterte was handed over to its custody after arriving in Rotterdam by aeroplane.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said that the fact the arrest warrant has been carried out "is important to victims" and proof that "international law is not as weak as some may think".

Duterte was due to be taken to a detention centre before an initial court appearance likely to be scheduled in the coming days.

Speaking to AFP outside the ICC, Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug war, said: "My clients are very thankful to God because their prayers have been answered."

"The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a great signal for international criminal justice. It means that no one is above the law," Andres added.

But dozens of pro-Duterte protesters gathered in front of the detention centre close to the North Sea coast, unfurling a banner reading "We are with Duterte" and waving flags.

"There has been no due process," said caregiver Duds Quibin, 50. "This is kidnapping. They just put him on a plane and brought him here."

- 'Oppression and persecution' -

Earlier on Wednesday, lawyers filed a petition to the Supreme Court in the Philippines accusing the government of "kidnapping" Duterte and demanding it "bring him back".

"The ICC can only exercise its jurisdiction if a country's national legal system is not functioning," lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. told reporters outside the court, insisting that the Philippines' judicial system was "working properly".

Before her father's departure, Vice President Sara Duterte said he was being "forcibly taken to The Hague", labelling the transfer "oppression and persecution".

A one-time alliance between President Ferdinand Marcos and the Duterte family has exploded spectacularly since the 2022 presidential election, when Sara Duterte was Marcos's running mate.

She is currently facing a Senate trial on a number of charges, including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.

Duterte himself had earlier taken to social media, claiming that the Supreme Court would step in and prevent his transfer.

- 'Rotting at the cemetery' -

At a church in the capital Manila, people whose family members were killed in the "drug war" welcomed the arrest.

"Duterte is fortunate, there's due process for him. There was no due process for my son" Angelito, said Emily Soriano at a press briefing organised by a local rights group.

Duterte "will be lying down on a good bed, my son is already rotting at the cemetery."

For Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Duterte's arrest marked "a critical step for accountability in the Philippines".

China, however, warned the ICC against "politicisation" and "double standards" in the Duterte case, saying it was "closely monitoring" it.

The high-profile case came with the ICC currently under sanctions from Donald Trump.

The US president is unhappy at the court issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war.

- 'Davao Death Squad' -

The Philippines quit the ICC in 2019 on Duterte's instructions.

But the tribunal claims jurisdiction over killings up to then, including ones in the southern city of Davao when Duterte was mayor.

The ICC said in its arrest warrant that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" at least 19 people had been murdered in the city by members of the "Davao Death Squad", headed by Duterte.

Additionally, at least 24 people were killed by Philippines police in various locations, judges believe.

Duterte is still hugely popular among many who supported his quick-fix solutions to crime, and he remains a potent political force.

burs-ric-jj/rlp/bc/rmb

(O.Joost--BBZ)

Advertisement Image