The controversial former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has been arrested over claims of crimes against humanity.
The government said he was detained on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant when he landed in Manila on Tuesday.
The case centres on thousands of killings that took place during his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs from 2011 – when he was a city mayor – to the end of his presidency in 2022.
Mr Duterte won power in 2016 on the back of a policy to kill drug dealers and smash crime.
It’s claimed police or vigilantes working for them, such as gunmen on motorbikes, killed masses of unarmed suspects while he was in charge.
Authorities have denied the claims.
Mr Duterte said on Monday he was ready to be arrested when he landed back in his home country from Hong Kong.
His team have already declared the arrest unlawful and vowed to fight it.
The 79-year-old admitted to an inquiry last year that he had a “death squad” of gangsters who killed at his behest when he was mayor of Davao.
However, he denied authorising police to shoot suspects when he became president.
Mr Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, when he was leader.
Arrest is key step for families’ fight for answers
This arrest is a huge blow for Duterte.
Human rights groups estimate tens of thousands of Filipinos were summarily executed during his brutal “War on Drugs”. Only a handful of people have ever been arrested.
It could be a key step towards accountability for those who’ve long sought it for loved ones – many of whom were gunned down by hit men, police and vigilantes.
Campaigners say the majority were poor people, largely from cities, who had nothing to do with the drug trade.
It’s unclear if Duterte will be forced to surrender to the ICC in The Hague. But it will certainly be a major test for the court, which has recently also sought the arrest of the head of Myanmar’s military and Israel’s prime minister.
Duterte played up to his role as a strongman as he stepped off the plane, telling reporters: “You would have to kill me first if you are going to ally with white foreigners.”
The former leader’s team has already declared the arrest unlawful and vowed to fight it.
Many feared Duterte’s successor was helping him continue life with impunity. The pair did both talk about the ICC threatening the Philippines’ sovereignty.
But by late 2023, the government had quietly allowed investigators to enter the Philippines. It appears that was a critical step towards today’s development.
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The ex-president’s administration also tried to suspend the ICC probe in late 2021, arguing it didn’t have jurisdiction and saying domestic authorities were already looking at the claims.
Judges in The Hague rejected the objections two years ago and said the investigation could continue.
Current president Bongbong Marcos Jr, who took over in 2022, has not re-joined the ICC.
However, he said he would cooperate if his predecessor was put under an Interpol “red notice” – a request for police anywhere in the world to arrest a suspect.
