Under arrest

Killing and Rodrigo Duterte seem to be inseparable. As he was being escorted out of the plane from Hong Kong yesterday morning, his comment to those apprehending him was, "...if you don't have a warrant, you will just have to kill me."

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

Since killing got him in his current tight spot in the first place, and the escorts had no intention of joining him in The Hague, his arrest proceeded peacefully.

His lawyers and loyalists led by Sen. Bong Go were the ones who were agitated, as Duterte was whisked off through the NAIA ramp to neighboring Villamor Air Base. Journalists were barred from entering the NAIA 1 building.

The loyalists had planned to play the illness card to get custody of Duterte, with Go arriving in an ambulance ostensibly for his boss. Duterte himself, however, didn't seem interested in feigning "life-threatening" illness, as his camp claimed yesterday afternoon. He ignored the wheelchair that was pushed behind him as he walked out of the passenger tube to the airport terminal.

Watching him being bundled off last night for his date with the International Criminal Court (ICC), the common question was, will Rodrigo Duterte finally answer for crimes against humanity?

The other question was whether his fate will put an end to impunity in extrajudicial killings by state forces. Will the sight of Duterte being led to Interpol and then ICC custody make those with a propensity for short cuts to law enforcement think twice before engaging in EJKs?

Equally important, will his fate lead to the arrest of those accused or convicted of EJKs in his war on drugs? Those involved were mainly members of the Philippine National Police.