Baste Duterte: Rodrigo's arrest a 'political maneuver' of Marcos

Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte on Tuesday cried foul over the arrest of his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, alleging that it was a political move made by the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

In a Facebook post, the younger Duterte said the Marcos administration is trying to use the arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to sway public attention from the 2025 national budget issue.

"This is not the Philippine National Police serving a warrant since they cannot even justify their actions. This is a political maneuver of the Bongbong Marcos administration. Be prepared no matter what," the mayor said.

"Bongbong Marcos admin is fantasizing that this scenario would materialize hoping that the issue on the national budget would just go away. The smell of desperation," he added.

GMA News Online sought for a comment from Malacañang regarding Sebastian Duterte's statements, but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

He also said authorities are using Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Police Major General Nicolas Torre III to "illegally detain and deny PRRD of medical care," referring to the initials of his father, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

"It seems to me that they are trying to murder the old man," he said.

Earlier in the day, Malacañang confirmed that Rodrigo Duterte was put under the custody of authorities after getting arrested for crimes against humanity.

The Presidential Communications Office said authorities served a warrant of arrest against the former president when he arrived in Manila from Hong Kong past 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Duterte, however, questioned why he was being detained at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City following his arrest. While at the base, Torre read to him the Miranda rights, informing him of his right to remain silent and to have his own legal counsel.

The ICC has been investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths in police operations.

Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and say that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings. — VDV, GMA Integrated News