‘Kill me’: Former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte’s chilling words on arrest

A former president of the Philippines, infamous for his bloody war on drugs, asked police to “kill” him upon his arrest.

Former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, launched into a wild rant as he was arrested at an airport in Manila for alleged crimes against humanity earlier this week.

New footage shows the shocking moment Mr Duterte calmly told police “You will just have to kill me. I refuse if you will just ally with the whites,” as he resisted deboarding the train on Tuesday morning.

Officials had confronted him as he returned to the Philippines on Cathay Pacific flight CX907, after meeting with Filipino expats in Hong Kong the day before.

Mr Duterte was seen being escorted into a police vehicle with his wife, Honeylet Avancena, and daughter Veronica soon after.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte sits at a table in custody at Villamor Air Base in Manilaon March 11, 2025 in Manila, Philippines after being arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity linked to thousands of deaths over his brutal anti-drug campaign. His arrest follows an extensive international investigation into these killings. (Handout photo by Senator Christopher Go via Getty Images)

He was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, according to Criminal Investigation and Detention Group chief Major General Nicholas Torres III.

Mr Duterte’s daughter has also released footage of her father at Manila’s Villamor Air Base.

In the video, Mr Duterte questioned why he was being held against his will.

“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? I was brought here not of my own volition, it is somebody else’s,” he can he hear saying in the recording.

“You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty.’

Mr Duterte was highly controversial, but still also has a strong base of support in the Philippines, as seen by supporters shouting slogans as they gather outside the Villamor Air Base in Pasay, Metro Manila on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Jam STA ROSA / AFP)

According to the ICC, Mr Duterte is being investigated over thousands of alleged extrajudicial executions under his presidency, most of which were part of his war on drugs.

“He was arrested by the authorities of the Republic of the Philippines in accordance with an arrest warrant issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I for charges of murder as a crime against humanity,” the ICC said in a statement.

Mr Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged crimes against humanity related to his "war on drugs," which resulted in thousands of deaths during his presidency from 2016 to 2022. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

The arrest warrant for Mr Duterte’s arrest states that during his presidency, he created armed death squads which murdered alleged drug users and dealers.

Mr Duterte is now in the custody of the ICC, after arriving to the Netherlands on Wednesday after a long delay in Dubai, during which he received medical examinations.

Human rights groups said up to 30,000 drug suspects were executed during Mr Duterte’s controversial drug crackdowns, whereas local police claim the number to be closer to 6000.