The office of the President of the Philippines has reported the arrest of the country’s ex-President Rodrigo Duterte after receiving a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Duterte was taken into custody on Tuesday at Manila airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong, according to the Philippine government, which received the ICC request through the international police agency, Interpol.

“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for the crime of crime against humanity,” the government said in a statement.  “He’s now in the custody of authorities,” it said.

Duterte is facing allegations of “crimes against humanity” during a brutal anti-drugs drive while he was in office.

The former president’s so-called “war on drugs”, while he was in office from 2016-2022, deprived suspects of “due process under the law”, according to the arrest warrant, and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, including children.

In a statement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) described Duterte’s arrest as “a critical step for accountability in the Philippines”.

“His arrest could bring victims and their families closer to justice and sends the clear message that no one is above the law. The Marcos government should swiftly surrender him to the ICC,” said Bryony Lau, HRW’s deputy Asia director.

Defending his actions amid reports of his possible arrest, Duterte had previously said that he “did everything…for the Filipino people”.  “If it’s really my fate in life, that’s OK, I will accept it. There’s nothing I can do about it. If I’m arrested, if I’m jailed, so be it,” he had said.

Over the course of Duterte’s six-year presidency, more than 7,000 people were killed in official anti-drug operations, according to police records.

However, human rights advocates have claimed that the killings numbered over 30,000, including those who were killed by unknown suspects, some of whom later turned out to be police officers.