00:00An unusual reception at this Manila airport for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
00:07Typically greeted with fanfare by officials, this time detained by police.
00:14His arrest warrant, issued by the International Criminal Court, citing crimes against humanity
00:20related to his bloody war on drugs.
00:23The Philippines presidential office says Interpol sent the request to arrest Duterte earlier
00:28Tuesday morning.
00:30The former leader, defiant.
00:33What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?
00:39Show to me now the legal basis for my being here.
00:46By some estimates, as many as 30,000 people were killed during Duterte's anti-drug campaign
00:52during his time in office, which started in 2016.
00:55Human rights groups accuse his administration of targeting unarmed suspects and planting
01:00evidence, allegations that he denies.
01:04The ICC launched its investigation in 2018, prompting Duterte to withdraw the Philippines
01:09from the court.
01:11But his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has indicated Duterte could be handed
01:16over to ICC officials, something his lawyer rejects.
01:20We are obeying an entity that we are no longer a member of.
01:25We have already withdrawn.
01:27And yet, sir, you are the prosecutor general.
01:30You know how to exercise due process.
01:32Duterte, Duterte, Duterte!
01:36Outside the airport where he was arrested, his supporters gathered, calling his arrest
01:41politically motivated.
01:43Though controversial, Duterte remains popular among many Filipinos, including those living
01:49overseas, with his recent appearance in Hong Kong drawing hundreds of admirers.
01:55Analysts say his arrest is the result of years of pressure from human rights groups, as well
02:00as fallout from a feud between the Duterte and Marcos families, once ironclad political
02:06allies, now bitter rivals.
02:09The Marcos administration has been hanging that, this Damocles sword, you know, this
02:16possible punishment, this negotiation chip, that up until the last moment, you know, he's
02:21been dragging his feet and he's saying that he'll do this.
02:24And up until this moment, the Dutertes are not willing to compromise.
02:27Duterte's arrest is the start of what many view as a path to justice.
02:32But what others say is a witch hunt.
02:34With the former president now in custody, the country waits to see whether he will be
02:39sent to The Hague to stand trial.
02:41Chris Ma and Gino Lopez for Taiwan Plus.
02:46For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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