The national police said it was tightening security as the Philippines braced for unrest between pro- and anti-Duterte camps.
2025.03.13
Manila/Davao, Philippines
Philippine military pushes back against reports of ranks split over Duterte’s arrest
Supporters of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wait for his arrival at the Scheveningen Prison following his arrest at the request of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025.
Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
Philippine military branches remained united despite former President Rodrigo Duterte being transferred to the custody of the International Criminal Court, officials said Thursday, amid reports that his arrest had divided the ranks.
In anticipation of potential unrest and violence in the fallout from Duterte’s arrest on an ICC warrant, the Philippine National Police meanwhile said it was tightening security measures nationwide, as it urged Filipinos to stay calm.
Even in the Netherlands, where Duterte arrived on Wednesday, tensions were high as a handful of Filipino supporters of the ex-president faced off at night with anti-Duterte compatriots, who shouted slogans cheering his arrest and detention.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines clarifies that reports of AFP personnel resigning in support of former President Duterte remain unverified,” Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, the military spokesperson, told reporters on Thursday.
The 150,000-strong military was united despite reports circulating on social media that personnel loyal to Duterte had resigned as a sign of support to the former president, she said.
“We urge everyone to exercise critical discernment and avoid spreading unconfirmed information,” Padilla said, referring to reports spreading on social media about the supposed mass resignation of service persons.
The military remains a “professional, unified, and non-partisan institution, committed to its constitutional mandate of defending the nation and the Filipino people,” she said. “Our personnel continue to remain focused on our sworn duty, upholding the rule of law and the chain of command.”
Padilla also called on Filipinos to “exercise restraint and uphold the rule of law.”
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The 79-year-old Duterte is now locked up at an ICC detention center in the Netherlands as he awaits an initial appearance before the world court.
He faces charges of having committed crimes against humanity through a bloody antidrug campaign under his presidency (2016-22) and dating back to 2011, when he served as mayor of southern Davao city, according to his ICC arrest warrant.
“M. Duterte is under ICC custody at the ICC detention center in Scheveningen. He was admitted today following all medical checks,” The Hague-based court said in a statement on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the Philippine Supreme Court asked Philippine government officials involved in Duterte’s arrest to justify the legality of the former president’s arrest and detention before the ICC.
Three of Duterte’s children had earlier filed petitions to compel the Philippine government to return him to the country.
During his time in office, the tough-talking Duterte made no apologies for his administration’s brutal crackdown on the illegal drug trade in his country, and he openly encouraged police officers to shoot dead drug suspects.
“Whatever happened in the past, I am fronting for the police and the military … I have told you, I will protect you and I will take the responsibility for everything,” the former Filipino strongman said in a video message from the jet that flew him to Rotterdam.
“This will be a long legal proceeding(s) and I say to you, I will continue to serve my country. So be it, if that is my destiny. Salamat,” he said in an English message mixed with Tagalog.
After the chartered executive jet landed in Rotterdam, the Philippine Consulate in the Netherlands said it provided the former president with consular assistance and supplied him with winter clothing “in view of the winter season,” a change of clothes, and care packages.
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Then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte jokes to photographers as he holds an Israeli-made Galil rifle at Camp Crame in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines, April 19, 2018. (/Bullit Marquez/AP)
Back in the Philippines, Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said the military branch had no information about soldiers resigning in support of Duterte.
Dema-ala said the public should not believe these reports because they were spread on social media.
“Currently, we have not received any report about Army soldiers who have actually resigned,” he said.
Dema-ala said the Army’s ranks were intact and remained committed to the chain of command.
“No need for a loyalty check,” he said. “The Army remains professional and we are focused on our mandate.”
Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido called on soldiers to “remain professional and focus on the task given by higher headquarters.”
The Navy as well as the Air Force also carried out its own personnel accounting, officials said, adding there was no unrest among the ranks.
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People from the Filipino community in the Netherlands hold banners during a protest against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in front of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025. (Marta Fiorin/Reuters)
On Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) released a memorandum calling on its regional offices and support units, including the elite Special Action Force, to tighten security measures countrywide.
All uniformed personnel were advised to be on extreme caution “for possible enemy atrocities” and intensify border control points and prepare for possible civil disturbance, the PNP said in the memorandum.
There were reports on social media too that policemen had also resigned following Duterte’s arrest and transfer to ICC custody.
“This pertains to the current nationwide peace and order situation where possible civil disturbance, rallies and mass actions may arise following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” the police force said.
“The Philippine National Police continues to monitor the situation closely and is fully prepared to respond to any developments,” Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, the national police chief, said.
At least one country, Australia, advised its citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” in the Philippines, citing an increased risk of “demonstrations and civil unrest” related to Duterte’s closely followed arrest this week.
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Supporters of arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte attend a protest denouncing his arrest on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Davao City, southern Philippines. (Jeoffrey Maitem/BenarNews)
Duterte remains popular among the uniformed services. When he was president, he often traveled to police and military bases around the Philippines to meet with the personnel.
Duterte often called police officers “my policemen” and had assured them of protection from prosecution if drug war victims hailed them to court. This, however, remained an empty promise: Eight officers have so far been convicted of murder in carrying out the former president’s anti-narcotics campaign.
Relatives of those slain have claimed that many of the victims, who came from impoverished parts of the country, were summarily executed by police or vigilante groups. Human Rights groups said that many of the killings of drug suspects were staged to make it look as though they had died in a shootout with authorities.
Human rights groups said that as many as 20,000 suspected drug pushers and addicts were slain in Duterte’s so-called “drug war,” although official police figures put the death toll at more than 6,000. Many victims had been taken off the official list because they were classified as “deaths under investigation,” according to rights groups.
Jeoffrey Maitem contributed to this report from Davao City, southern Philippines.
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