Drugs war architect Rodrigo Duterte sent a rallying call to his supporters as he was detained on charges of alleged crimes against humanity.

The former Philippine president was flown out of the Philippines on Tuesday, March 11, to stand before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Before landing on March 12, he sent a video message informing his supporters about his condition.

The defiant politician said: 'To my countrymen, just to give you the current situation, I am about to land at The Hague. I came from Dubai, stopover. It's a long-haul flight.

'I am okay. Do not worry. I think this has something to do with the law and order before. I had always told the police and military, just work and I will take the blame for you. That is what is happening. For whatever happened in the past, I will front for our law enforcement. I told them I will protect them.

'This will be a long legal proceeding, and I say to you, continue to serve the country.'

Duterte was arrested on March 11 morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

He had initially refused to disembark the plane upon arrest, 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.

Crazed supporters have been staging rallies in his stronghold Mindanao island since Tuesday to protest his arrest.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a former ally and now political rival of the influential Duterte family, defended the government's role in Duterte's capture.

He said: 'Interpol asked for help and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don't do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad. We cannot say no to Interpol when they ask us to catch a wanted individual.'

Duterte is the architect of the country's notoriously bloody war on drugs, which police claimed saw more than 6,000 drug suspects killed. However, human rights groups said the alleged extrajudicial executions reached up to 30,000.

In 2018, he 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.