Tearful families of Philippine drug war victims welcome Duterte arrest

MANILA - Prayers of thanksgiving mingled with quiet sobs on March 11 as family members of people slain during former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war gathered for a mass celebrating his arrest on charges of crimes against humanity.

Widows and mothers carefully placed framed photographs of their dead husbands and sons in front of the altar at the Sacred Heart Parish in a Manila suburb, casualties of a crackdown that activists say killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men.

The women said Mr Duterte’s arrest on the morning of March 11 by the police serving an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant was an “answered prayer”.

Father Flaviano Villanueva, a Catholic priest and fierce opponent of the drug war, recalled in his homily the despair the relatives felt while waiting for justice, likening news of Mr Duterte’s arrest to a long-closed prison cell finally being flung open.

“I hope this arrest will pave the way for the complete healing of our country, for people to remember that justice will prevail,” Father Villanueva told AFP after his sermon.

Ms Luzviminda Dela Cruz, whose 19-year-old son was killed by the police after a raid on a relative’s house in 2017, told AFP she felt relieved that “my son has now achieved justice”.

“I feel a kind of happiness that I cannot explain. I have been praying for this every day,” said Ms Dela Cruz, who wore a sky-blue shirt printed with the word “justice”.

Mr Duterte was president from 2016 to 2022 and ICC prosecutors in The Hague say the number of those killed in his drug war ranges from 12,000 to 30,000.

He and his lawyers have questioned the legality of the ICC warrant, but Mr Duterte has also said he offered “no apologies, no excuses” for his actions