By Deutsche Welle (World News) | Created at 2025-03-17 09:41:01 | Updated at 2025-03-17 12:30:07
3 hours ago
The Philippine Senate said on Monday that it will carry out a formal probe after ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and handed over last week to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he faces charges of having committed crimes against humanity.
Duterte, 79, has been accused of being responsible for many murders during his years long campaign against drugs, during which thousands were killed, according to rights groups.
Who initiated the Senate probe?
The probe, which will include a public hearing on Thursday where top police and other government officials will testify, was initiated by Senator Imee Marcos.
Imee Marcos is a sister of President Ferdinand Marcos and also a close friend of Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president's daughter, who has been impeached on charges that include an alleged assassination plot against the president.
"As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I am calling for an urgent investigation into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, an issue that has deeply divided the nation," Imee Marcos said in a statement on Monday.
"It is imperative to establish whether due process was followed and to ensure that his legal rights were not just upheld but protected," she said, adding: "Our sovereignty and legal processes must remain paramount."
Rodrigo Duterte makes first appearance at the ICC, The Hague
What has the reaction to Duterte's arrest been?
Shortly after Duterte's arrest at Manila airport on March 11, Imee Marcos warned at a news conference that the detention of "poor President Duterte" could "only lead to trouble." Later on Friday, she said, "I cannot accept what they did to [Duterte]."
Duterte's lawyer Salvador Medialdea has told the court that the actions against his client were "pure and simple kidnapping."
However, the arrest has been hailed by rights groups and families of victims in Duterte's anti-drugs campaign.
Duterte is the first Asian former head of state to be charged by the ICC, which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. It has no police force of its own and relies on those of signatory states to make arrests on its warrants.
Edited by: Rana Taha
