Former Philippine President Duterte arrested on ICC warrant

Hanoi - The Philippine Presidential Office said on March 11 that the country's police had executed an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The arrest took place on March 11 morning (local time), right after he arrived at an airport in the capital Manila. The former leader is currently in custody.

According to the office, the Interpol office in Manila has received the official copy of the arrest warrant from the ICC.

The Philippine National Police executed the ICC arrest warrant against Duterte in connection with his controversial policy in the war on drugs while in office, which left thousands of people dead, it said.

Duterte's former lawyer said the arrest warrant was "illegal" as the former president had no legal representation at the time of his arrest.

The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of live cattle and buffalo as well as their products from Japan due to the outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD), its Department of Agriculture said on December 19.

The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Minister of of Trade, Industry and Energy Cheong In-kyo on December 26 said that the RoK-Philippines free trade agreement (FTA), set to take effect next week, will help the country further bolster its trade portfolio and contribute to maintaining a stable supply chain.