Former President Rodrigo Duterte is now under detention by the International Criminal Court or ICC in The Hague in the Netherlands where he will be tried for allegedly committing crimes against humanity when he was in office as Davao City mayor and later as president of the Philippines. The charge includes only more than 20 killings out of the thousands of people slain when he launched his war against the illegal drugs trade in Davao City and later in the entire Philippines.
Duterte is the first Asian former head of state to be tried by the court. He will stay in The Hague for the duration of the trial that will last for a number of years. Meaning that he will be away from the country not only during the trial but also after it if he will be convicted. Duterte, like the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. before him, still has a large following in the Philippines. Marcos followers are called “loyalists” while those of Duterte are called “diehard Duterte supporters” or DDS.
I am one with those who are calling for Duterte’s rights to be protected throughout the trial and even beyond. Despite the magnitude of the charges and Duterte’s harsh words, the ICC needs to show to the world that international humanitarian law works. Now is the time for believers of liberal democracy to show that the system works in the face of tyranny. This should be a learning process, especially for those who want authoritarianism to prevail worldwide.
I actually would not quarrel with those who felt secure after Duterte assumed the presidency and the killing spree that started in Davao became nationwide. In our place, the use of illegal drugs used to be rampant and some illegal drug dealers already divided turfs, meaning that they controlled some areas using violence. Under Duterte, the drug pushers in our place got muted and the spread of illegal drug use got minimized.
But while the “drug war” instilled fear in drug pushers, it also made those who believed in the rule of law and due process fearful—especially when killers were compensated for each death, fostering chaos instead of law and order. That is why I welcomed Bongbong Marcos’ assumption of the presidency, despite the legacy of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. At least we were able to take a respite from the rampant killings.
The Duterte arrest and his ICC trial should therefore showcase what a rules-based international order is like. Those who have placed the former president under their custody should show that justice can still be had even if due process is followed. Litigation may take years but it is better than not following the rules and immediately killing suspects without establishing genuine guilt.
On this, I always cling to an old Filipino saying about breaking an egg. As they say, once an egg is broken, it cannot be made whole again. It’s like when an innocent person is killed. How can life be restored when it has already been lost?