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FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte got what he wished for.
Shortly after his plane landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the International Police Organization (Interpol) through the Philippine National Police (PNP), placed Duterte under police custody in view of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The 79-year old Duterte, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) was “taken into custody” over alleged crimes against humanity filed before the ICC, was taken to the Villamor Air Base for medical check-up before the “booking procedures.”
“Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doktor ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan,” reads part of the PCO statement.
“Ang mga opisyal ng PNP na nagpatupad ng warrant ay tiniyak na may suot na body camera. Sa ngayon, nasa kustodiya na siya ng mga kinauukulan,” the PCO added.
BRUSQUE AND TOUGH
Prior to the “arrest,” a video shared by ABS-CBN showed Duterte on a confrontational mode before disembarking from the airplane which took him home from a campaign sortie in Hong Kong where he wooed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to vote for the PDP senatorial bets.
“You will just have to kill me, kung hindi ako papayag kung, kakampi ka d’yan sa mga puti.”
Duterte has since been denying allegations.The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating allegations that the death of around 30 individuals linked to illegal drugs during his stint as President is a state-sanctioned “crime against humanity”.
“Wala akong maalala na ginawa kong kasalanan. Marami akong ginawa na hindi nagustuhan ng iba or maybe lahat but I did it for my country,” Duterte said in an interview on SMNI, a media entity owned by his ally Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
“Hindi ako yumaman, wala akong nakuha, pobre pa rin ako and wala kayong nakitang nadagdag na ni-isang nipa hut sa bahay ko. Wala kayo nakita na bagong kotse.”
WELL-PLANNED ARREST
The police force, headed by PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, earlier mobilized dozens of uniformed men in what appears to be “in anticipation of the arrest.”
PNP deployed hundreds of cops as part of implementing tight security at the NAIA Terminal 3 as early as 5:00 Tuesday morning amid Duterte’s scheduled arrival from Hong Kong.
Aside from Marbil and Torre, likewise present at NAIA Terminal 3 were former Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, Senator Bong Go and representatives from the Interpol.
Meanwhile, long-time Duterte ally Sen. Christopher Go claimed that their airport pass was cancelled for which they were not able to come close to the former President.
“Hindi kami makapasok di na pinagbawalan lang kami pumasok. Kinansel lahat yung pass namin,” Go told reporters when sought for an update as to what happened to the former President.