DAVAO CITY – Aircraft carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte and daughter Vice President Sara Duterte became the most tracked flights in the world based on the monitoring of the online flight tracking website flightradar24.com.
SCREENSHOT of the flight track of Emirates flight Boeing 777-31H (ER) EK-337 believed to be carrying Vice President Sara Duterte while flying over India as of 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, March 11. (Flightradar24.com)
According to the flightradar24.com, the Gulfstream G550 with flight registration number RP-C5219 was followed by at least 30,000 people in less than an hour after it departed Villamor Airbase in Pasay City at 11:03 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.
Just five minutes after the aircraft left, Flightradar24.com acknowledged the flight’s tracking record on its Facebook page with the post: “Currently #1 on Flightradar24 is #RPC5219, believed to be carrying former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte.”
Emirates flight No. EK 337, a Boeing 777-31H (ER), believed to be carrying Vice President Sara Duterte, is also the most tracked flight with at least 1,600 followers as of 1:30 p.m. according to the online flight tracking website.
The Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, with the Philippine National Police, served the warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against former President Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity during his campaign against illegal drugs.
Duterte was immediately detained upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after attending a gathering with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Hong Kong.
The aircraft departed after over 12 hours since the former President was arrested.
The Gulfstream G550 carrying the former President who was accompanied by his lawyer former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and a nurse landed at 5:15 a.m. at Dubai World Central International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
However, as of 1:30 p.m. (Philippine time), the plane has yet to depart Dubai, based on flightradar24.com data with status showing “unknown.”
It showed the plane was scheduled to depart at 10:59 a.m. for Rotterdam the Hague Airport in the Netherlands.
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) confirmed that the Vice President left Manila on Wednesday morning, March 12, for The Hague, Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is headquartered.
Vice President Duterte was schedule to arrive at around 4 p.m. Philippine time.