We followed every single necessary procedure – Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday maintained that the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte was not unlawful, contrary to the latter’s claim.

The  former president is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity he allegedly committed during his administration’s bloody drug war.

READ: The fall of ‘The Punisher’: Rodrigo Duterte’s path to the ICC

“Well, we followed every single necessary procedure,” Marcos said in a Palace address.

“We followed all legal procedures that are necessary. I’m confident that in further examination you’ll find that this is proper,” he continued.

In the same briefing, Marcos confirmed that the chartered plane carrying Duterte took off for The Hague in the Netherlands, at 11:03 p.m.

This is where the headquarters of the ICC is located.

The drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data. However, human rights watchdogs and the ICC estimated the death toll from the drug war to be much higher—between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019. They said several of the cases are extrajudicial killings.