29-03-2025: Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11 after flying in from Hong Kong, where the 79-year-old was seeking medical treatment. He was immediately flown to The Hague in the Netherlands to face allegations of murder, torture and rape – part of the 15 forms of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC).[1] These alleged crimes supposedly took place in relation to Duterte’s “war on drugs” during his Presidential term, in which thousands of drug dealers lost their lives in an effort to confront and overcome the vast drug addiction problems within the country. The former President has remained defiant despite his ill health and irrespective of the likelihood that the ICC will sentence him to a long jail term, which he may not survive. Duterte stated that “I did everything during my term as President not for myself and my family but for the Filipino people”. He went on to say that if being arrested and jailed is his fate, “so be it”.[2]

No jurisdiction

Aside from the egregious violation of Filipino sovereignty by the ICC, it has no jurisdiction in the Philippines. This is due to the fact that in March 2019, then President Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute, under which the ICC claims its authority. This came after the ICC at that time issued multiple threats to the then President.[3] To get around this legal fiction, current Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr claimed that Duterte’s arrest was conducted in compliance with the governmental commitment to Interpol, from which the Philippines has not withdrawn.[4] This is a flimsy excuse, which covers up the political machinations of imperialism and Marcos Jr’s own collaboration with Washington and European elites. Rodrigo Duterte and daughter and current Vice President Sara Duterte addressed a crowd of several thousand supporters who had gathered on the Malieveld in The Hague. Rodrigo Duterte remains confident that he has no case to answer, despite the circumstances of his detention.[5] At this rally, Sara Duterte called on current President Marcos Jr to resign for a failure to show leadership.[6]

Some claim that the ICC’s actions were “extrajudicial rendition”, but in reality this was a kidnapping. Duterte was summarily removed from his own country against his will, in a basic abduction. The ICC is well known as a body controlled by imperialism, which will never bring before it a leader of the capitalist West, no matter the crimes. It will always be wheeled out for geopolitical aims against independent leaders of the global south. The political battle between the Marcos family and the Dutertes is not a simple issue of rival political dynasties, with the Duterte political base rooted in Davao in the south of the country weighed against the Marcos clan based in Manila.[7] What is occurring is that Washington is interfering with the Philippines’ internal politics in order to further prosecute a planet threatening nuclear war on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This cataclysm must be avoided at all costs.

Most popular President

Rodrigo Duterte was President from 2016 to 2022 and served his full six-year term. During that time, Duterte was far and away the most popular president in Filipino history. His approval rating never dipped below 64%, for the vast majority of the time it was over 70%, and several times it was over 90%.[8] It is doubtful that any Western politician ever reached Duterte’s lowest approval rating, let alone matched it. Duterte had many achievements, expanding infrastructure which resulted in a multiple increase in internet speed, and foreign direct investment jumped significantly[9] in what is a generally poor country of around 100 million people. His “war on drugs”, despite the bleating of Western liberals, was widely approved by his vast support base. Duterte was brash, uncouth and sometimes foul-mouthed. Yet four out of five Filipinos saw him as one of their own, standing up for them when almost no one else had. Despite its history of US colonialism, most Filipinos cherish their own sovereignty.

What imperialism found most intolerable was not at all faux concerns for lives lost during an anti-drugs campaign, but Duterte’s refusal to entertain conflict, let alone war, with the PRC. Duterte rightly scoffed at those who demanded the Philippines take on the Asian superpower, pointing out that if this was to happen, the Philippines would be crushed. Much better to get along with Red China, figured Duterte, and this is what he did, signing many agreements to “build, build, build” infrastructure with PRC based firms. To further horrify Washington and the West, Duterte even pivoted the Philippines towards the Russian Federation, and built good relations with its President Vladimir Putin.[10] The ICC and the entirety of liberal imperialism are aghast at these moves, which, if continued, would prevent the US state from turning the Philippines into another “Ukraine” for a proxy war on Beijing.

In the 2022 election, Duterte’s daughter Sara ran as Vice President on a ticket with Ferdinand Marcos Jr for President. This was successful, but the moment Marcos Jr stepped into office he reversed Duterte’s peaceful and friendly relations with the PRC, in favour of subordination to the Pentagon and Washington. Marcos Jr even allowed the construction of four new military bases in the Philippines to which US troops have full access.[11] During his election campaign, Marcos Jr dishonestly never mentioned anything about capitulating to US subordination, let alone plans for war on the PRC. Duterte Snr was simply speaking out about this, warning Filipinos that Marcos Jr and his backers were leading the country to self-destruction. It was to put a stop to this that it used the ICC to kidnap Duterte.

It is in the vital interests of workers in the Philippines and internationally to offer critical support to the Dutertes against Marcos Jr, who may trigger a disastrous proxy war if left unchecked. Workers must also defend the PRC against the war preparations of the West, despite the often conservative leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Asian superpower is in need of a proletarian political revolution to open the road to much needed strides towards international socialism. In the Philippines, socialists should orient themselves towards the legacy of the Duterte era, while reminding Filipinos that true sovereignty can only come about through bringing the working class to power. Key to this task is the forging of a Marxist vanguard, fortified by the pillars of Permanent Revolution.

Workers League

www.redfireonline.com

E: workersleague@protonmail.com

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[1] www.philstarlife.com/news-and-views/639969-duterte-surrendered-icc-philippine-law?page=3 (26-03-2024)

[2] www.globalnation.inquirer.net/266382/duterte-on-possible-icc-arrest-warrant-i-did-everything-for-filipinos (26-03-2024)

[3] www.rt.com/news/421271-duterte-withdraws-icc-immediately/ (26-03-2024)

[4] www.philstarlife.com/news-and-views/308506-lawyers-weigh-in-rodrigo-duterte-arrest-icc-warrant (26-03-2024)

[5] www.globalnation.inquirer.net/269600/duterte-confident-has-no-case-to-answer-at-icc-vp-sara (26-03-2024)

[6] www.msn.com/en-ph/politics/government/sara-duterte-says-marcos-resign-palace-asks-who-will-benefit/ar-AA1Bweof (26-03-2024)

[7] www.asiatimes.com/2025/03/marcos-duterte-blood-feud-flares-into-existential-crisis/# (26-03-2024)

[8] www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/836404/duterte-approval-stayed-high-through-six-years-pulse-asia-data-show/story/ (26-03-2024)

[9] www.gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/how-duterte-changed-the-philippines-in-six-years-of-his-presidency-1.1647534496252 (26-03-2024)

[10] www.asianjournal.com/philippines/metro-manila/putin-ph-a-very-important-partner-to-russia/ (26-03-2024)

[11] www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippines-reveals-locations-4-new-strategic-sites-us-military-pact-2023-04-03/ (26-03-2024)

Image: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte addresses a sea of supporters of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, at The Hague in the Netherlands. Many of the crowd were overseas Filipino workers. http://www.tribune.net.ph