On March 11, 2025, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police and Interpol in Oplan Tugis (Filipino for 'Operation Pursuit') under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant charging him with crimes against humanity related to the Philippine drug war. Duterte arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila on March 11 after attending a political rally in Hong Kong. Once the warrant was executed, he was held in custody at the nearby Villamor Air Base and then transferred to the Netherlands, where he is expected to face trial in The Hague. The operation was largely planned by police general Nicolas Torre.
Duterte was indicted on charges of crimes against humanity, which include extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Mayor of Davao City and as President of the Philippines, until the country's withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019. Based on the statute, the ICC retains jurisdiction for crimes committed while the country was still a member, regardless of later withdrawal. He is the fifth Philippine president to be indicted and arrested, following Emilio Aguinaldo (1945), Jose P. Laurel (1945), Joseph Estrada (2001), and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2011). He is also the first Philippine president to face an international tribunal and the first leader from Asia to face trial before the ICC.
Duterte was arrested amid an escalating feud between the Marcos and Duterte political families, although President Bongbong Marcos himself expressed sadness regarding the arrest. Analysts have described Duterte's arrest and surrender to the ICC as remarkably quick and trouble-free, as well as a "seismic" precedent-setting event that could inform how other criminally charged world leaders would potentially be arrested.
Background
Launch of the ICC investigation
Rodrigo Duterte was investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity. The investigation covered Duterte's links to the Davao Death Squad, which is estimated to have killed at least a thousand people since the 1990s, as well as reports of extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers and users during his presidency, limited to the period before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019.
In 2017, Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio submitted a 77-page document to the ICC titled "The Situation of Mass Murder in the Philippines", accusing President Duterte and 11 other officials of mass murder and crimes against humanity. Similarly, then-senator Antonio Trillanes and members of the Magdalo Party-List, led by then-representative Gary Alejano, filed a 45-page supplemental complaint requesting charges of crimes against humanity, supporting Sabio's earlier filing.
The ICC's jurisdiction in the Philippines applies only to the period when the country was a state party to the Rome Statute (November 1, 2011 – March 16, 2019). This includes nearly three years of Duterte's presidency, during which the Philippine drug war was at its peak. The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a 2021 ruling, commented on the withdrawal from the Rome Statute and stated that the Philippines still has an obligation to cooperate in the ICC proceedings.
Climate during the Bongbong Marcos presidency
Under President Bongbong Marcos's administration, the government maintained its stance of non-cooperation with the ICC investigation. However, by 2024, it acknowledged that it could not prevent investigators from acting independently. In November 2024, the Philippine government reaffirmed its stance on the ICC but stated that it would surrender Duterte if he were indicted, citing its obligation to Interpol.
Preparation for Duterte's arrest
In May 2024, the Department of Justice began briefing President Marcos on the possible scenarios in which the ICC would issue a warrant of arrest for Duterte, as well as its legal team's preparations for how to handle them.
According to The New York Times, in preparation for the possible issuance of an arrest warrant by the ICC, the Philippine National Police (PNP) had discreetly prepared an 80-page plan for Duterte's arrest with the code name Oplan Tugis, or Operation Pursuit in English. In it, they laid out scenarios for how the arrest of Duterte might play out in either Manila or Davao City, with maps of Duterte's properties as well as his allies' properties included in the document. The PNP conducted four dry runs of Duterte's arrest at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). PNP police general Nicolas Torre himself later recalled planning the entire operation once it was entrusted to him, stating that "I really told them that let me[...] succeed and fail on my plans. Because if I succeed, I succeed based on my plans. If I fail, I fail on my plans also, so there's no one else to blame but me."
Prelude to arrest
Issuance of warrant
The International Criminal Court's (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I issued a warrant on March 7, 2025, at The Hague, with Judges Iulia Motoc, Reine Alapini-Gansou, and Socorro Flores Liera presiding. The ICC reached out to Interpol for the execution of the warrant. While rumors suggested that a warrant was imminent as Duterte flew to Hong Kong a few days prior, its legal existence was not immediately disclosed to the public. The document was reclassified from "secret" to "public" on March 11. The Presidential Communications Office confirmed the warrant in a press release hours after its execution.
In a press conference shortly after the plane bound for the Netherlands departed, President Bongbong Marcos stated the warrant had been sent to the Office of the President of the Philippines via the Interpol Manila office at around 03:00 PHT (UTC+08:00) on March 11, 2025. He added that authorities proceeded with serving the warrant in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP). He emphasized that the PNP enforced the warrant in coordination with Interpol, not the ICC, of which the Philippines was formerly a member.
Hong Kong PDP rally
On the morning of March 7, Rodrigo Duterte flew to Hong Kong with his common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña; their daughter, Veronica "Kitty" Duterte; their adoptive daughter, Mira; his former executive secretary, Salvador Medialdea; and his entourage. They had initially traveled from Davao City to Manila the previous evening. His eldest daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, flew to Hong Kong later on to join him. Duterte had already heard about the imminent arrest warrant from the ICC, and while in Hong Kong, he and his family debated whether to remain in Chinese territory or return to the Philippines.
On March 8, the Hong Kong-based newspaper The Standard first reported Duterte's presence in the city after he was spotted in Causeway Bay with his entourage, amid circulating rumors that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant for him. Salvador Panelo, Duterte's former presidential legal counsel, stated that his trip was solely to thank supporters in Hong Kong at a Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) campaign sortie. He added that he would join Duterte the following day. The Philippine government did not confirm at the time whether the ICC had issued an arrest warrant but stated, "If Interpol will ask the necessary assistance from the government, it is obliged to follow" and that "the government is prepared in any eventuality".
On March 9, Duterte attended a PDP campaign sortie organized by the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai, where he promoted his party's slate of senatorial candidates. Others who attended the sortie include Vice President Sara Duterte and Senators Bong Go and Robin Padilla, as well as senatorial candidates Vic Rodriguez, Raul Lambino, Rodante Marcoleta, Jimmy Bondoc, and Phillip Salvador. Senator Ronald dela Rosa was expected to attend but was unable to, while a standee for jailed pastor and KOJC founder Apollo Quiboloy, a senatorial candidate, was displayed on the campaign stage. Most of the attendees were female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In his speech, Duterte acknowledged the rumored arrest warrant, expressing both defiance toward the ICC and readiness to face arrest. Jokingly, he added that the crowd could contribute "$5 or $10" each to fund a monument of himself beside a José Rizal statue in Davao City.
From March 10 to the morning of March 11, hundreds of police officers were deployed at Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City, the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, and Metro Manila. The Manila Times reported that this was in preparation for the possible arrest of a high-profile but unidentified individual, widely speculated to be Duterte, who was set to return to the Philippines from Hong Kong. According to a source cited by the GMA news program 24 Oras, the deployment of two battalions of SAF officers in Davao City was part of the "psychological warfare" strategy of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to discourage Duterte from directly heading to the city. Prior to Duterte's return to the Philippines, his group had booked five separate flights back to the country in an attempt to obfuscate Duterte's actual arrival.
Rumors circulated that Duterte had sought political asylum in China. However, Sara Duterte stated that her father had not been in contact with Chinese officials during his stay, while China's Foreign Minister Guo Jiakun also denied receiving any asylum requests from the Dutertes. A source cited by 24 Oras refuted this, stating that Duterte had indeed issued an asylum request that was denied by China. The source added that, although the CIDG had preferred to arrest Duterte in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Police Force refused to cooperate due to China not being an ICC member, but complied with the escorting of Duterte to ensure that he boarded his plane back to the Philippines.
Oplan Tugis
Arrest
On March 11, more than 300 police officers, led by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Marbil and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Nicolas Torre, were deployed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in anticipation of Duterte's arrival from Hong Kong, with the CIDG instructing air traffic controllers to direct Duterte's plane towards Boarding Gate 116. The arresting team itself consisted of 60 CIDG officers and 20 Special Action Force personnel. At 09:20 PHT (UTC+08:00), Duterte arrived at NAIA on Cathay Pacific Flight 907. While Duterte was waiting for his wheelchair, retired general Anthony Alcantara, executive director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes, met him on the plane, informed him of the ICC-issued warrant and escorted him to the jet bridge at Boarding Gate 116. There, Alcantara, Department of Justice prosecutor general Richard Fadullon and Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Markus Lacanilao (Interpol's representative) arrested him with the support of PNP officers. The reading of Miranda rights was postponed at the request of Duterte's party, which insisted that they be read only in a more secure location in an attempt to prevent him from being taken into custody. Lawyers Salvador Medialdea and his wife, Maria Bertola "Betty" D. Medialdea, both former cabinet officials during Duterte's presidency, were present during his arrest. Duterte's daughter, Kitty, livestreamed his arrest, while his common-law wife, Avanceña, tried to dissuade him from complying with police authorities, calling them "abusive" and claiming they had no warrant.
Aside from the Medialdeas, Duterte's other lawyers, aides, and doctors were prevented from approaching him when he was taken into police custody. Senator Go, who arrived separately from Duterte, and lawyer Silvestre Bello III informed the media at the airport about Duterte's detention and separation from his aides.
Go stated that police denied his request to see Duterte despite his claim that an ambulance was already waiting for Duterte's planned medical checkup. According to Torre and former senator Antonio Trillanes, however, Duterte had a private jet already waiting for him at NAIA when he arrived. Most of the police officers escorting Duterte out of the airport were women, per a request from Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who anticipated potential outbursts from Duterte against male officers.
The PNP later placed its regional units and national support on heightened alert, starting March 11, in anticipation of potential protests and civil disturbances following Duterte's arrest.
Detention and transfer to The Hague
Following his arrest, Duterte was taken to Villamor Air Base, where he and his family were housed in Maharlika Hall within the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing. They were joined by the Medialdea couple, lawyer Martin Delgra III, retired general Filmore B. Escobal and former NICA director Alex Paul Monteagudo. During his detention, Duterte was allowed to sleep in a room next to the hall. Torre read Duterte his Miranda rights and presented a printed copy of the arrest warrant. Despite Torre's repeated insistence, Duterte refused to comply with the booking procedure. Senator Go arrived at Villamor with former government officials Bello, Lorraine Badoy-Partosa, and Trixie Cruz-Angeles, but was denied entry to the air base.