Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was given an arrest warrant issued by Interpol on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, March 11.
Duterte was taken into custody by the police at Manila airport soon after he arrived from Hong Kong.
As per BBC, ICC intends to investigate Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity related to his involvement in the deadly "war on drugs," which caused thousands of deaths in the Philippines.
Earlier, Duterte stated that he was prepared to be arrested if the ICC issued a warrant against him.
He has consistently defended his anti-drug campaign and denied instructing police to kill drug suspects unless it was in self-defence.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) called the arrest a "historic moment.”
Meanwhile, Duterte's former presidential spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, criticized the arrest, calling it "unlawful" because the Philippines had withdrawn from the ICC.
What is “war on drugs?”
Duterte's "war on drugs" was his main campaign promise, helping him win the presidency in 2016 as a tough anti-crime mayor.
Duterte used strong and aggressive language to urge security forces to kill drug suspects.
During the campaign, over 6,000 suspects were shot dead by police or unidentified attackers.
However, human rights organizations believe the actual death toll may be even higher.
Later, the police deny involvement in these unexplained killings and reject allegations from human rights groups.
