A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He's accused of allowing tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings to be carried out during his time in office as he sought to stamp out the country's drug trade. Willem Marx has been following this. Willem, so what are the allegations against Duterte?
WILLEM MARX: Well, A, Karim Khan - that's the chief prosecutor at the ICC - he's been involved in investigating allegations for years that centered on former President Duterte's war on drugs. That started when he was mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines but ultimately became a national campaign that left thousands of people dead, as you mentioned. He's basically accused of waging a campaign against drug-dealing using police squads who carried out extrajudicial killings. The ICC seems to be basing its case on the apparent murders of several dozen people between 2011 and 2019, when he would have held ultimate responsibility for the security forces that carried out those killings, often targeting very poor, very marginalized communities. And the court's saying he failed to act to stop what amounted to state-sponsored violence.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Has Duterte responded?
MARX: Well, in a sense, yes. He's actually taped a video while on the chartered flight to The Hague.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RODRIGO DUTERTE: (Speaking Filipino).
MARX: So speaking in a mix of Filipino and English, Duterte said he told the police and military to just do the work. He would be accountable for everything. He also says he expects a long legal battle. His supporters say his arrest constitutes politically motivated persecution. Many saw his antidrug campaign as a public safety solution, but there's little indication it actually worked.
His daughter, Sara, who is the country's current vice president, says her father's arrest was a state kidnapping. She and another of her siblings have filed petitions to the Philippine Supreme Court to order him returned. They're arguing that since the Philippines withdrew from the treaty that empowers the ICC while Duterte was president, it should no longer have jurisdiction. But they haven't yet succeeded in persuading judges of that.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. What have been the reactions of critics and political opponents?
MARX: Well, human rights groups, victims' families, they've celebrated his arrest. I spoke to a former senator there, Antonio Fuentes Trillanes, who was one of the lawmakers who first referred Duterte's actions to the ICC.
ANTONIO FUENTES TRILLANES: For the victims' families, this is a first major step towards their pursuit of justice. And we're very, very happy for them. On my end, I'm looking at this as a way to make our political leaders accountable for their actions.
MARX: So the country's current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he's not a fan of the Duterte family, even though, as I just mentioned, his own vice president is a member of that family. He hasn't said much about Duterte's arrest other than to say that the ICC warrant obliged Philippine police to arrest Duterte when he landed in Manilla earlier this week on a flight from Hong Kong.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. What are his next steps?
MARX: So at some point, he'll have an initial hearing, as it's known, where the charges against him will be formally presented. His legal team, they'll have an opportunity to respond to those. They may file motions or requests for the case to be dismissed. And then if the judges decide there's sufficient evidence to support those charges, the case can move on to trial. If they don't confirm the charges, conversely, he could be released. Any trial could last quite a few months. Ultimately, he could face significant prison time or other penalties, and those might include reparations for victims of the violence.
MARTÍNEZ: That is Willem Marx. Willem, thank you very much.
MARX: Thank you, A.
(SOUNDBITE OF BALTHVS' "SUN COLORED EYES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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