Plane carrying Philippine's Duterte to ICC has left Dubai: Report

Rotterdam: A plane carrying former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court took off for Rotterdam, a source told Reuters on Wednesday, after being delayed by a few hours during a layover in Dubai.

Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested early on Tuesday in Manila, marking the biggest step yet in the ICC's probe into alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-drugs crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.

The plane had originally been set to land at Rotterdam airport around 0600 GMT, but tracking service Flightradar 24 showed it was delayed after a layover in Dubai and should now arrive around 1625 GMT.

A source at the ICC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plane had taken off.

About 20 anti-Duterte protesters gathered outside the court in The Hague with banners and a mask depicting him as a vampire.

Duterte received medical attention during the layover in Dubai, Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN News said. ABS-CBN showed on its website pictures of what it said were police doctors checking on Duterte as he lay on an airplane bed.

A spokesperson for the Philippine National Police said the medical checks were routine "regular vital signs and monitoring".

His daughter Sara Duterte, the country's vice president, boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said in a statement, but it did not say what she intended to do there or how long she planned to stay in the Netherlands.

The ICC's press office declined to comment. One of Duterte's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in Dubai also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Bloody war on drugs'

Duterte, 79, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference on Tuesday that the plane carrying Duterte was en route to The Hague, saying that would allow the former president "to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs".

The war on drugs was the signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial Duterte to power in 2016. During his six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, by the police's count.

Activists say the real toll was far greater, with many thousands more slum drug users gunned down in mysterious circumstances, some of whom were on community "watch lists" after they signed up for treatment.

Silvestre Bello, a former labour minister and one of the former president's lawyers, said a legal team would meet to assess options and seek clarity on where Duterte would be taken and whether they would be granted access to him.

Duterte's youngest daughter, Veronica, plans to file a habeas corpus request with the Philippine Supreme Court to compel the government to bring him back, Salvador Panelo, his former chief legal counsel, said.