Plane carrying Rodrigo Duterte departs from Dubai, flies to Rotterdam

MANILA, Philippines — The Gulfstream G550 jet carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague departed Dubai, United Arab Emirates at 3:58 p.m. (PST) on Wednesday, March 12. It is en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he is set to face trial at the International Criminal Court.    

The private jet with tail number RP-C5219, landed at around 8:04 a.m. (PST) on March 12 at the Al Maktoum International Airport, according to online flight trackers.

Duterte was arrested by Philippine authorities on Tuesday, March 11, following an arrest warrant accusing him of committing crimes against humanity in relation to the extrajudicial killings during his war on drugs. 

The ICC issued the arrest warrant on March 7 and coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) yesterday. 

Duterte left the Philippines at 11:03 p.m. on Tuesday, about 12 hours after returning from Hong Kong, where he was taken into police custody upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon served the arrest warrant just before the former president stepped off the plane that morning.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in a late-night press briefing, said the government was fulfilling its obligations by complying with the ICC’s arrest warrant notice, citing its commitments to Interpol.

For him, there is nothing unlawful or political about the arrest.

RELATED: Marcos: Duterte’s arrest a responsibility to international community

The ICC has been gathering documentary evidence and interviewing witnesses on Duterte’s war on drugs and extrajudicial killings since 2017, predating the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

Rights groups estimate the death toll at 12,000 to 30,000, while government data place it at around 6,000.

Duterte, his family, and his legal counsel have rejected the arrest, calling it illegal and procedurally flawed. They have also petitioned the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order to halt the government's cooperation with the ICC.

Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, had deported for the Netherlands with lawyers to determine their next steps. She has since condemned her father’s arrest, claiming he was “forcibly taken.”