Timeline of The Punisher’s arrest: What happened and what comes next?
March 11, 2025 will be a day many will look back on.
On that Tuesday, former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested upon his arrival from Hong Kong on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). After hours of being under police custody, Duterte was consequently flown on a chartered flight to The Hague in the Netherlands, where he will undergo trial for accusations of crimes against humanity.
Duterte, the 16th president of the Philippines, is facing charges for his role in the controversial war on drugs, which he instituted nationwide upon assuming the presidency in 2016.
Duterte’s arrest is the climax of his clash with The Hague-based court, with the former being famously vocal about his disdain for the latter’s alleged interference with the country’s sovereignty. It also marks a significant development for the victims and the survivors of Duterte’s drug war in their quest for justice.
Here is a rundown of the events that led to Duterte’s arrest, and what awaits him at The Hague.
The cases against Duterte
April 24, 2017 – Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio filed the first publicly known case against Duterte to the ICC. In his 77-page complaint, Sabio alleged that the former president “repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously” committed extra-judicial killings for over three decades, beginning with his tenure as the mayor of Davao in 1988.
June 6, 2017 – Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, along with then Magdalo Partylist representative Gary Alejano, filed a supplemental complaint to the ICC. In a press release, Trillanes alleged that Duterte “repeatedly, explicitly and clearly pronounced a national policy of killing drug suspects and the PNP executed it.”
August 28, 2018 – Victims of Duterte’s drug war formed the group “Rise Up for Life and for Rights” and filed the second complaint against Duterte to the ICC. The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), the group’s legal counsel, said that theirs was a landmark case, as it was “the first time victims themselves are filing a case against President Duterte.”
Photo: Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Facebook
Withdrawal from the ICC and continued investigations
February 8, 2018 – Then-ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that the court has opened a preliminary investigation into the alleged crimes committed during Duterte’s war on drugs. Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed this development, saying that Duterte was “sick and tired” of the accusations against him.
March 17, 2018 – The Philippines formally filed its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, in response to the tribunal’s preliminary investigation. The Philippines first ratified the Rome Statute in August 2011, during the time of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. (Related story: Just another Noynoy tribute)
April 14, 2018 – Duterte threatened to arrest Bensouda if she exercised any proceedings in the Philippines, and insisted that the ICC will “not in a million years” have jurisdiction over him. Roque echoed Duterte, adding that the Rome Statute is “not effective nor enforceable in the Philippines.”
March 17, 2019 – The Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC officially took effect, becoming the second country after Burundi to leave the international judicial body. The Hague-based court, however, maintained that it still retained jurisdiction over the alleged crimes that had been committed “during the period when it was a state party to the statute.”
January 2020 – Sabio withdrew his case from the ICC, alleging that the case had only been a “political propaganda” of former senators Trillanes, Leila de Lima, and the opposition-led Liberal Party. He denied being paid to withdraw his case, adding that the investigation was merely no longer in the interest of justice.
December 14, 2020 – Bensouda announced that there was “reasonable basis to believe” that crimes against humanity have been committed during Duterte’s war on drugs. These crimes include murder, torture, infliction of serious physical injury, and mental harm.
June 16, 2021 – Britain’s Karim Khan assumed the position as the ICC’s next prosecutor, replacing Bensouda. Khan has previously been a lead defense counsel for the ICC, and has worked on cases from Kenya, Sudan, and Libya.
July 21, 2021 – The Supreme Court junked the petitions questioning the country’s withdrawal from the ICC. However, in the same decision, the Supreme Court maintained that the Philippines must still cooperate with the ICC, as it remained bound by the Rome Statute until March 2019.
September 15, 2021 – The Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC granted Bensouda’s request to begin a formal investigation on Duterte’s alleged crimes committed between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019—the duration of the Philippines’ adoption of the Rome Statute.
November 10, 2021 – Then-Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Eduardo Malaya formally requested Khan to defer the ICC’s investigation, saying that the government was already looking into the allegations of extra-judicial killings conducted during the war on drugs. This request invoked Article 17 of the Rome Statute, which stated that the ICC may only exercise jurisdiction when the national legal system fails to prosecute crimes under international law.
November 18, 2021 – Khan announced that he had “temporarily suspended” the investigation, in response to the Philippine government’s request for deferral. He added that the prosecution will continue to analyze the information it already possessed.
June 30, 2022 – Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. was sworn in as the 17th President of the Philippines, succeeding Duterte. Sara Duterte, daughter of the previous president, was elected vice president.
January 26, 2023 – The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber formally reopened the investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs. ICC judges stated that they were not convinced of the sufficiency of the Philippine government’s investigations.
February 18, 2023 – Marcos echoed his predecessor’s stance, stating that his administration will not cooperate with the ICC’s investigation. Like Duterte, Marcos saw the investigation as “an intrusion into our internal matters and a threat to our sovereignty.”
November 24, 2023 – Months later, Marcos switched gears, saying that his administration is studying the possibility of rejoining the ICC. Marcos made this remark in response to the House of Representatives exploring the possibility of allowing ICC investigators to investigate the drug war in the Philippines.
January 31, 2024 – Retired police officer and self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas revealed that he had given his testimony to the ICC. While he did not reveal specific details on when or how the testimony was given, Lascañas said that he identified Duterte as the person behind the death squad, along with several personalities involved in the drug war.
August 15, 2024 – The House of Representatives officially launched the quad committee (quadcom), which combined the committees on dangerous drugs, public accounts, public order and safety and human rights, to investigate the extra-judicial killings conducted during the drug war, among others. In one of the hearings, former Davao police officer Royina Garma revealed that Duterte sanctioned a supposed “cash reward system” for every drug suspect killed.
October 28, 2024 – The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee launched its own investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs, following testimonies from the quadcom hearings implicating the former president in the extra-judicial killings. Duterte himself appeared during the Senate hearing and defended his war on drugs, saying “I did what I had to do. And whether you believe it or not, I did it for my country.”
November 13, 2024 – After repeatedly skipping numerous invitations from the House, Duterte finally attended the quadcom hearing alongside de Lima, his fiercest critic. During the hearing, Duterte called for the ICC to “hurry up” and begin their investigation, while also asserting that the court had no jurisdiction over the Philippines.
December 19, 2024 – The House quadcom recommended the filing of crimes against humanity charges against Duterte, Senators Bong Go and Ronald Dela Rosa, and other police officials for their participation in the alleged extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs.
January 24, 2025 – In a press briefing, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said that the Philippine government will act “favorably or positively” should they receive a request from the ICC, coursed through the Interpol, to take custody of personalities involved in Duterte’s war on drugs.
March 7, 2025 – Duterte flew to Hong Kong to participate in a thanksgiving event and campaign for PDP-Laban’s senatorial candidates at the Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai. His trip was amid growing speculation that the former president would soon be served with a warrant of arrest from the ICC.
March 9, 2025 – In his speech during his appearance in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, Duterte acknowledged the rumors of his impending arrest and once again asserted that he only did what was best for the country. On the same day, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed that the Palace has yet to receive a warrant, while Communications Secretary Jay Ruiz said that the government was ready for any possible scenario.
March 10, 2025 – The Philippine National Police was placed under heightened alert, with at least one source saying that over 7,000 policemen would be deployed in Manila and Davao, in preparation for Duterte’s return to the country. This was after the Interpol reportedly issued a red notice against Duterte.
March 11, 2025: Arrest warrant served
Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 upon his arrival from Hong Kong. He was then brought to the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Duterte’s daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, posted footage of her father questioning the legality of his arrest on her Instagram story. “You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty,” the former president said in the footage.
Kitty would then post a series of Instagram stories detailing the supposed mistreatment of her father under police custody. At one point, she claimed that the former president was not allowed to seek the medical attention he needed after his glucose levels shot up.
Sen. Go also went live on Facebook to share his dismay on Duterte’s arrest, and went to Villamor to deliver a box of pizza to the former president, but was denied entry. VP Sara attempted to visit her father later that evening, and was also denied entry.
Sen. Dela Rosa, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the day—his Senate office locked and his phone unreachable. His camp, however, filed his and Duterte’s petition close to the end of office hours for the Supreme Court to request a temporary restraining order against the arrest warrant and compel the Philippine government to release the former president from police custody. Their petition was rejected by the Supreme Court the next day, saying that Duterte and Dela Rosa “failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right” for the immediate issuance of a TRO.
Duterte was brought to a private jet at 9 PM. At 11:03 PM, the private jet took off from Villamor Airbase, landed in Dubai for a layover, before arriving in the Netherlands on the evening of Wednesday, March 12 (PH time).
Screengrab: PTV
Shortly after the plane that was carrying Duterte flew off, President Marcos addressed the public through a press conference, asserting that the government merely obliged the request of Interpol “because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill.”
March 14, 2025: Duterte makes first appearance at the ICC
Joining via video link from the ICC Detention Center, Duterte made his first appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber I, composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc from Romania, Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou from Benin, and Judge Socorro Flores Liera from Mexico. This appearance was mainly to verify his identity and confirm that he had been informed of the crime he had allegedly committed and his rights under the Rome Statute.
Duterte was represented in the chamber by Salvador Medialdea, his former Executive Secretary, who alleged that the former president’s arrest was “pure and simple kidnapping” and that his “debilitating” medical issues deem him unfit for trial. These allegations, however, were quickly dismissed by the chamber, saying that a court-appointed doctor had assessed Duterte as “fully mentally aware and fit” to stand trial.
What will happen in the next few months?
During the same appearance, Motoc scheduled the pre-trial hearing for September 23, where the court will determine whether the evidence presented by the prosecution is sufficient enough to proceed to trial. As the lead prosecutor for Duterte’s case, Khan has been given until April 4 to submit evidence that they plan to present during the pre-trial hearing.
Duterte’s side, meanwhile, has been given until April 11 to inform the chamber of their plans for the hearing. Medialdea, after being rushed to the hospital last March 18 due to undisclosed reasons, withdrew as Duterte’s lead counsel. The former president will now be represented by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who previously represented former Congo Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba and former Central African Republic minister Maxime Mokom.
Once the chamber determines that the evidence is sufficient enough for the case to go to trial, Duterte’s case will undergo the followingprocess:
The ICC Presidency will constitute a Trial Chamber, consisting of three judges, to try the case. At this time, Duterte will now be referred to as the “accused”.
Trial judges will hear evidence from the Prosecutor, Defense, and the Victims’ lawyers.
A verdict will be rendered based on the evidence presented during the trial.
Members of “Bayan Central Visayas” gathered in Cebu City last March 11 to welcome the news of Duterte’s arrest and urged the government to immediately turn Duterte over to The Hague. | Photo: PTV
If Duterte is found guilty, he may be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years or life imprisonment. He will also be ordered by the Trial Chamber to make the necessary reparations for the harm suffered by the victims of his drug war, including “compensation, restitution or rehabilitation.”
Depending on the verdict, either the Prosecutor or the Defense may file an appeal to the court, which will be reviewed by an Appeals judge. In the event that Duterte’s case is closed without a guilty verdict, it may be reopened once the Prosecutor presents new evidence.
Atty. Kristina Conti, assistant to the counsel for ICC, said that ICC trials usually take an average of eight years before a verdict is reached. EVD