The 79-year-old’s arrest on a warrant issued by the global court was hailed as a major breakthrough and step toward ending impunity by human rights groups and families of victims.

Police took Rodrigo Duterte into custody on orders of the ICC, which has been investigating the massive killings that happened under the former president’s deadly crackdown against illegal drugs.

The moment Jerica Ann Pico, the widow of a man who was killed during the war on drugs in the Philippines, heard the news of former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest, she said it felt like a fresh breath of life had rushed back into her.