Former President Rodrigo Duterte being detained at the Villamor Airbase after his arrest upon his arrival from Hong Kong. Screen grab from Kitty Duterte’s Instagram  

MANILA, Philippines – “What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?”

This was the question former President Rodrigo Duterte asked his arresting authorities when he was captured Tuesday (March 11) morning right from his arrival to the Philippines from Hong Kong and brought to the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. He demanded that he be informed of the charges against him or his captors are bound to face liability for deprivation of liberty. 

“Show to me now the legal basis for my being here. Apparently I was brought here not of my own volition. It is somebody else’s. Kung hindi ibang tao, ikaw siguro because this is your structure. So you have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty,” he said as seen in the Instagram stories of his daughter Kitty. 

Kitty, who actively posts updates on her father’s capture, alleged that the former president’s arrest was a form of “illegal detention” since there was “no warrant of arrest.”  

Duterte was arrested upon the effect of a warrant by the International Criminal Court investigating the past administration’s alleged crimes against humanity during the implementation of its bloody drug war. 

In a statement, the Malacañang Palace confirmed that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Manila has received the copy of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against the former state chief. 

Duterte unaware of charges against him 

One of his lawyers and his former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea who was with Duterte at Villamor Airbase alleged that the former president’s arrest was questionable.  

“Alam niyo ba na hindi man siya na-serve nung kasong chinacharge sa kanya ngayon hindi niya alam,” Medialdea said. 

“Hindi ba kayo naaano na ganito ang ginagawa natin? Sumusunod tayo sa isang entity na hindi na tayo myembro, nag withdraw na tayo,” Medialdea said. 

Medialdea even ran down the basic processes of an arrest to the authorities to establish the irregularities of Duterte’s capture. 

“Before you can even file charges, you have to file a complaint, we have to file a counter affidavit, without doing those procedures, here we are being issued a warrant of arrest, a questionable warrant of arrest. Ano ba naman ‘to sir?” Medialdea said. 

Duterte, a lawyer and a former professor at the national police academy, also schooled his arresting officers about what they should know when arresting an individual. 

“Pagdating sa trial diyan, tatawagin kita sa witness stand sabihin ko you are the person who arrested me, may I know the reason why. Have you read the documents or at least have you read the case at that time that you made the arrest so that you would be guided to what you should know,” he said.