By Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines are aware of reports that the International Criminal Court will grant an arrest warrant for former President Rodrigo Duterte about his “war on drugs”, a controversial policy that killed thousands of Filipin's when he was in office.
Duterte, who said he is ready to be arrested, will return to the Philippines by plane from Hong Kong on Tuesday. He said in Hong Kong on Monday that he was ready to be arrested if the ICC has issued an order.
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However, the Philippines had not received official communication from Interpol so far on an arrest order from the ICC, according to the successor of the government of Duterte, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
A post on X from GMA News on Tuesday showed the head of the Philippine National Police and an interpol representative at the International Airport of Manila.
Duterte's “War on Drugs” was a characteristic policy after being swept into power in 2016 after vitriolic, crime reduction campaign promises to kill Narcotics dealers.
Human rights groups claim that the Filipino police and citizens have killed unarmed drug welcoming on the massive scale on the Duterte watch under their leadership, accusations that authorities have denied.
The ICC has said that it would pursue an investigation into suspected crimes against humanity.
While Duterte subsequently withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, the government indicated under new leader Marcos that Duterte could be handed over.
“Our law enforcement officers are ready to follow what the law dictates, if the arrest warrant has to be served because of a request from Interpol,” President -Maintenance of Presidential Communication Claire Castro told reporters on Monday.
(Writing by Kay Johnson; adaptation by John Mair)
