Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest: Scenes from a momentous day in the Philippines

An air base near Manila was the epicenter of a much-anticipated arrest that shook up Philippine politics.
BenarNews staff
2025.03.11
Washington and Manila
Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest: Scenes from a momentous day in the Philippines The plane carrying former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague takes off in Manila, March 11, 2025.
Aaron Favila/AP

For the past few days, Filipinos had waited anxiously to see if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would cooperate with the International Criminal Court and have police under his watch execute an arrest warrant for his predecessor. He did.

The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte at Manila’s international airport as he got off a commercial flight from Hong Kong set off a dizzying day, which was capped off by the ex-leader being spirited away to the Netherlands aboard an executive jet late at night.

Here are some photos that captured scenes from the momentous day: 

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Police personnel barricade gate 5 of the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City as supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte gathered to protest his arrest, March 11, 2025. (Gerard Carreon/BenarNews)
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A row of police officers stands guard as supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte protest outside the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Metro Manila, upon learning that the plane carrying the ex-president to The Hague had taken off, March 11, 2025. (Gerard Carreon/BenarNews)
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A supporter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte displays a doll of the ex-leader’s likeness during a protest outside the gate to Villamor Air Base, where Duterte was being held after his arrest earlier in the day, March 11, 2025. (Gerard Carreon/BenarNews)
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Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (center) gets a meal inside the Villamor Air Base in Pasay, Metro Manila, after arriving from Hong Kong, March 11, 2025. (PDP-LABAN via AFP)
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A supporter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reacts while facing police outside Villamor Air Base, where he is being held according to his political party, in Pasay, Metro Manila, March 11, 2025. (Jam Sta Rosa/AFP)
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Relatives of victims of the drug war and extrajudicial killings hold LED candle lights during a mass following the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in Quezon City, Philippines, March 11, 2025. (Lisa Marie David/Reuters)
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