Manila: Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte denounced the legality of his arrest Tuesday in Manila after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant that accused him of crimes against humanity during his war on drugs. 'What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? Prove to me now the legal basis for my being here, apparently, I was brought here not of my own volition, it's somebody else's,' he said in a video of his statement on social media.

According to Anadolu Agency, the video was recorded at the Villamor Airbase in Metro Manila during a conversation with Prosecutor General Anthony Fadullon. In the video, former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea called the arrest warrant 'questionable,' stating, 'You know how to exercise due process. Before you can even file charges, you have to file a complaint. We have to file a counter . without doing those procedures.'

Medialdea also reminded Fadullon that the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, asking, 'Don't you feel bothered that we are doing this, following an entity we are no longer a member of, that we have withdrawn from?' The Philippines ratified the Rome Statute in 2011, which provided the ICC jurisdiction over crimes committed from then until 2019, when the country withdrew from the court.

Earlier, the Presidential Communications Office stated that the arrest warrant had been received by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in Manila early Tuesday, as reported by the state-run news agency. Duterte was taken into custody at the airport in the Philippine capital after returning from Hong Kong, where he had expressed preparedness for his possible arrest.

Reports suggest that the international court issued the arrest order as part of its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during Duterte's nationwide anti-drug trafficking operations between 2016 and 2022. Duterte has consistently refused to acknowledge the ICC's jurisdiction and has declined to cooperate with its investigations.