Filipino Catholic leaders have hailed the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as he faces charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killings of thousands of Filipinos during his war on drugs.
The 79-year-old Duterte was arrested on an ICC warrant at Manila’s international airport on the morning of 11 March and was flown to The Hague in the Netherlands before midnight.
In a statement, the social justice arm of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) said Duterte’s arrest “is a crucial step toward addressing the countless human rights violations committed under his administration”.
The CMSP is a 54-year-old organisation of male and female religious superiors, which was involved in resisting the dictatorship of Ferdinand E. Marcos – father of the current Philippine president who succeeded Duterte – from 1972 to 1986.
“True peace can only emerge when past wrongs are acknowledged, and those responsible are held to account,” the CMSP said in a statement that was read at a thanksgiving Mass on the morning of 12 March. “Duterte’s ICC warrant is not just a legal matter – it is a moral call for justice and truth.”
The statement added: "We call on the Philippine government to fully cooperate with the ICC’s investigation and arrest orders. Justice must not be obstructed, and Duterte, along with those who enforced and enabled his reign of terror, must face the consequences of their actions."
The appeal by the religious superiors, the organisation emphasised, “is not about vengeance but about upholding the dignity of every person, especially the poor and vulnerable".
Duterte is facing a crimes against humanity charge at the ICC over alleged extrajudicial killings between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019. The dates cover the first three years of Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2019, as well as the preceding years when he was mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao.
Priests and religious, including the newly created Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Kalookan, were among the staunchest critics of Duterte’s war on drugs.
The social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, in a separate statement on 11 March, said it welcomes the latest developments in Duterte’s ICC case.
“For years, former president Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of Caritas Philippines, which is supervised by the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Social Action-Justice and Peace.
“True justice is not about political allegiance or personal loyalty. It is about accountability, transparency and the protection of human dignity. We urge Duterte to uphold his own words and submit himself to the legal process,” Bagaforo said.
Caritas Philippines pointed out that based on recent testimonies, the drug war killings during Duterte’s term “were state-sanctioned”.
“These killings were not random; they were part of a policy that violated the fundamental right to life,” said Caritas Philippines Vice-President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza. “The families of the victims deserve truth, reparations and justice. As a nation, we must ensure that such crimes never happen again.”
The People’s Impeachment Movement (PIM), a recently established anti-Duterte group whose members include Catholic priests and Protestant pastors, also welcomed the ICC arrest warrant against the former president.
“This is the chapter long-awaited by families of [extrajudicial killings’] victims, who are still waiting for justice over their loved ones’ fate. This is also proof that the law keeps no sacred cows, even if you are a former president of the country,” said PIM member Father Bong Sarabia.
The PIM coalition is also calling for the speedy impeachment trial at the Philippine Senate of the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. The vice-president is accused of misusing public money.
Father Jerome Secillano, rector of EDSA Shrine and spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Manila, said the days are over when Duterte’s words “would always be taken as the ‘truth’”, adding how now that Duterte is out of power, his “once-mighty opinion on almost everything” amounts to “simply ranting”.
“Indeed, opinion has the semblance of ‘truth’ when one who says it is in a position of power,” said Secillano. “With all the lies Duterte said, he’s lucky [that] he was once in power. Now, truth is fast catching up with him.”
Duterte had a tense relationship with the Roman Catholic Church in this former Spanish colony, where nearly 79 per cent of the population, or about 85 million people, identify as Roman Catholic.
Further complicating his relationship with the Catholic hierarchy were his statements against the Church.
When he was a presidential candidate, Duterte called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” for causing heavy traffic during the pontiff's 2015 trip to the Philippines. When he was president, Duterte called God “stupid” for allowing Adam and Eve to sin.
He also threatened to kill bishops and priests whom he branded as drug addicts. Nevertheless, a vast majority in this predominantly Catholic nation supported Duterte during his six-year term.
This was followed in 2022 with Filipinos electing his daughter as vice-president and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the the late dictator, as president in an overwhelming vote that defied warnings from Catholic clergy.
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<em>Photo: Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte gather to protest outside Villamor Airbase, where Duterte was taken following his arrest on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, Manila, Philippines, 11 March 2025. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images.)</em>
