Former President Duterte’s flight becomes world’s most tracked

MANILA: A chartered plane carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, Netherlands, made headlines on Wednesday (March 12) after becoming the most tracked flight globally. According to  the flight tracker website Flightradar24.com featured by The Star, the Gulfstream 6550 jet, with the tail number RP-C5219, was being monitored by over 10,000 trackers worldwide as of 5.15 pm (Philippine Standard Time).

The aircraft departed from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City late Tuesday evening.

Duterte’s plane stopped in Dubai for several hours before arriving in Rotterdam just before 5 pm local time (4 pm GMT ) on Wednesday, according to FlightRadar24, reported CNN.

Duterte, 79, received medical attention during the layover in Dubai, Reuters reported.

He is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

In a statement to The Philippine Star, Sara Duterte – Duterte’s elder daughter, who is also the country’s vice president – said her father was being taken to The Hague. “As I write this, he is being forcibly taken to The Hague tonight. This is not justice – this is oppression and persecution,” said Ms Duterte, who followed her father to the Netherlands, taking a separate flight.

Duterte was flown to the Netherlands after he was arrested on Tuesday morning at the request of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). An arrest warrant was issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC)  for crimes against humanity related to his administration’s controversial war on drugs.