(FILES) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech during the presentation ceremony of the signed document on the Organic Law for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao to officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at Malacanang palace in Manila on August 6, 2018. (Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP)
Rotterdam, Netherlands: Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he was "responsible" as he arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday to face International Criminal Court charges of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs.
The ICC, based in The Hague, has said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Duterte committed the crime against humanity of murder as an "indirect co-perpetrator" during the anti-drug campaign that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of people.
"I am the one who led our law enforcement and military. I said that I will protect you and I will be responsible for all of this," Duterte said in a video shared on his and a close advisor's Facebook pages as he was about to land in The Netherlands.
"I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible," said the 79-year-old, the first Asian former head of state to face charges at the ICC.
The court rules on the world's worst crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The ICC confirmed that Duterte was handed over to its custody after arriving in Rotterdam by aeroplane.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said that the fact the arrest warrant has been carried out "is important to victims" and proof that "international law is not as weak as some may think".
Duterte was due to be taken to a detention centre before an initial court appearance likely to be scheduled in the coming days.
Speaking to AFP outside the ICC, Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug war, said: "My clients are very thankful to God because their prayers have been answered."
"The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a great signal for international criminal justice. It means that no one is above the law," Andres added.
Protesters holding Filipino flags and a banner in support of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gather outside the The Hague Penitentiary Institution prison, which houses the International Criminal Court's (ICC) detention unit, after a plane carrying Duterte landed landed in the Netherlands following his arrest on an ICC warrant tied to his deadly crackdown on drugs, in Scheveningen, on March 12, 2025. (Photo by Ramon van Flymen / ANP / AFP)
But dozens of pro-Duterte protesters gathered in front of the detention centre close to the North Sea coast, unfurling a banner reading "We are with Duterte" and waving flags.
"There has been no due process," said caregiver Duds Quibin, 50. "This is kidnapping. They just put him on a plane and brought him here."
