Drugs war madman Rodrigo Duterte questioned the legal basis of his detention after he was arrested by police for alleged crimes against humanity.

Footage shows the controversial politician, 79, ranting while detained at the Villamor Air Base in Metro Manila, on March 11.

He said: 'What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? Show to me now the legal basis for my being here. Apparently, I was brought here not of my own volition. It's somebody else's. You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty.'

Duterte, notorious for his bloody war on drugs, was detained upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila, at around 9:20 am today.

The tough-talking strongman had earlier refused to deboard the plane, telling officials: 'You will just have to kill me. I refuse if you will just ally with the whites.'

He was later seen boarding a police vehicle with his wife Honeylet Avancena and daughter Veronica. He had returned to the country on Cathay Pacific flight CX907 after meeting with overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong a day earlier.

Major General Nicholas Torre III, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, confirmed Duterte was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

In 2018, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it began investigating alleged human rights abuses linked to his war on drugs. He had argued that the ICC had no jurisdiction over the Philippines and accused it of being biased.

Police claimed around 6,000 drug suspects were killed during the former president's signature anti-drug crackdown, though human rights groups said the number could reach up to 30,000.