Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will take full responsibility for his government’s so-called “war on drugs.” The statement was made in a video message filmed on board a plane shortly before he was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“No matter what happened in the past, I will be the front line of our law enforcement and military. I have already said that I will protect you and I will be responsible for everything,” he said. The video message, which was filmed on board the plane that took him to the Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity, was his first speech to the Filipino public, the Guardian reports. Earlier, his lawyer Salvador Panelo said that the politician’s detention in Manila was illegal, since the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which regulates the ICC’s jurisdiction, back in 2019. In addition, the Philippine police did not allow human rights activists to meet the former president at the airport.
Duterte said: “It will be a long trial. But I tell you I will continue to serve the country. So be it. If this is my destiny. Thank you.” The politician has previously said that he “made no apologies” for his anti-drug actions. Duterte’s plane landed at Rotterdam airport at about 5 p.m. local time (19 Moscow time) on Wednesday, and the former president was transferred to the Hague detention center. In a statement, the ICC confirmed that it had taken the former Philippine leader into custody. Duterte is the first former leader of an Asian country to be served with an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.