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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaPolitics

If ICC orders Duterte’s arrest over his deadly drugs war, will Philippines recognise it?

  • Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr previously said Manila would not recognise an ICC warrant for Duterte’s arrest as it has no jurisdiction
  • His press secretary insists Marcos’ stance hasn’t changed. But a new justice department legal briefing exploring his options suggests otherwise

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Supporters and relatives of those killed in Rodrigo Duterte’s violent drugs crackdown walk towards a cemetery in Caloocan City on May 1 for a ceremony to provide a final resting place for the victims’ cremated remains. Photo: EPA-EFE
Jeoffrey Maitem
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr appears to have backtracked on an earlier vow not to hand his firebrand predecessor over to the International Criminal Court, after it emerged his justice department was issuing legal advice on how to respond to an ICC warrant seeking Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.
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The ICC is investigating the 79-year-old Duterte, whose daughter is now vice-president, for crimes against humanity over his brutal years-long drugs crackdown, which killed at least 8,000 people, according to official figures. Rights activists say the number could be much higher – and includes at least 122 children.

Two complaints have been filed against Duterte at the ICC: one submitted by a former policeman accusing him of ordering the deaths of opponents and criminals while he was mayor of Davao city, with the other lodged by relatives of those killed in his “war on drugs” while he was president from 2016 to 2022.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 after then-president Duterte – who earlier this year publicly accused his successor of being a “drug addict” amid a deepening row with the Marcos clan – questioned its authority to investigate his crackdown on illegal drugs. Marcos confirmed late last year that Manila was considering resuming its membership of the court.

“I think that’s for the better. We have to make people accountable for their actions,” said Renato Cruz De Castro, an international-studies professor at De La Salle University in Manila, of the Philippine Department of Justice’s Wednesday announcement that it was preparing a legal briefing outlining Marcos’ options in case of an ICC warrant. “We cannot simply allow impunity.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said last month that the Philippines would not recognise an International Criminal Court warrant for Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest. Photo: dpa
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said last month that the Philippines would not recognise an International Criminal Court warrant for Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest. Photo: dpa

The DOJ preparing a legal brief was just “standard procedure, not a change in position”, Marcos’ press secretary told reporters after news of the document emerged. It was the department’s duty “to explore all legal avenues and ensure that the president is fully informed of his options”, she said, adding that the president’s stance on the ICC issue remained “clear and consistent”.

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