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Rodrigo Duterte

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Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there is three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them.
—Rodrigo Duterte[1]

Rodrigo Roa Duterte (1945–) (also known by his nicknames Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD) was the President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He has been compared to fellow authoritarian populist lunatics Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro for inappropriate remarks and being an outright dickhead. Unlike Trump, who only thought he could get away with killing someone in public, Duterte has actually repeatedly bragged of killing people he claimed were rapists and kidnappers. This is an example of how a politician plays the Dexter Morgan card. This is how Duterte's Human Rights records while he was the mayor of Davao came under the microscope.[2][3][4]

The Mad Dog of Davao[edit]

Two clowns journeyed together.

During Duterte's tenure as mayor of Davao (1988-1998, 2001-2010, 2013-2016), he was allegedly complicit with the Davao Death Squad which operated from around 1993 onwards.[5] In 2009, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations and Human Rights Watch accused Duterte of being supportive of the death squad.[6][7]

He is known for his War on Drugs as soon as he became President. He has often killed anyone who does drugs because apparently doing drugs is way worse than murdering people. Ironically, there has been speculation that Duterte himself is a drug kingpin, and has been using the whole "War on Drugs" stunt as a front to cover up his (alleged) involvement in the Mindanao underworld,[8] on top of his alleged connections with offshore gaming and online scam hubs run by foreigners.[9] He has also been quite sexist and likes bragging about raping women[10] and otherwise attacking women's genitals.[11] Duterte also uses homophobic slurs, but it's okay because he used to be gay[12], but Duterte's homophobia is not a more conservative position than that of mainstream Filipino politicians, who are heavily Catholic. Indeed, Duterte has made rather conservative and harsh remarks on LGBTQ+ issues, but by Philippine standards, which are very conservative in actual policy, he is implementing a somewhat liberal LGBT policy.[13][14]

Crimes against humanity aside, Duterte has made many inflammatory statements in public: attacks against Pope Francis (the "son of a whore", which is also how he referred to Obama),[15] the Catholic Church ("full of shit"),[16] and a rape "joke",[17] none of which have seemed to sway public opinion of him.[18] The last straw may have been Duterte's insulting God:[18]

What he did was, Eve eats the apple, then she wakes up Adam.… So Adam eats the apple. Then, malice was born. Who is this stupid God? That [expletive] is really stupid if that's the case.…

Proving that he is unable to take even simple criticism, in 2020 Duterte was accused of being complicit in, if not outright responsible for, the broadcast shutdown of ABS-CBN, a major television network in the country, citing allegedly biased and unfavorable news coverage against Duterte beginning with his campaign in the 2016 Philippine presidential election among other things.[19] Prior to the network's shutdown, he also sought to have independent news site Rappler suppressed over its exposes against Duterte's regime.[20]

While he is often called the "Filipino Trump," which makes him sound like a reactionary, he self-identifies as a leftist. In fact, PDP–Laban, his (current) personal party, is also a democratic socialist and left-wing populist party.[21][22][23][24][25] In other words, he is a very strange politician whose extreme right-wing tendencies and leftist populist aspects coexist.

And like Trump, one columnist opined that Duterte exhibited a reality distortion field especially during his campaign, where his charisma and appeal to the masses–who were understandably anxious for change in the country–prevailed over both his human rights abuses and obscene remarks towards people and organizations, including but not limited to the Roman Catholic Church and even God himself, never mind the fact that the Philippines is majority Catholic.[26]

Post-Malacañang[edit]

In 2022, the International Criminal Court launched an investigation on Duterte over human rights violations during the drug war. [27] In response, Duterte petulantly withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, but prosecutors said he cannot stop the probe no matter what.[28] As he was term-limited, Duterte might very well be indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity as an ex-president. Duterte himself hinted that he may be arrested by the ICC any time for his atrocities.[29] As of November 2024 former President Duterte faces multiple congressional hearings related to allegations of crimes against humanity. [30].

Duterte was succeeded by Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son of the country's former dictator. Much to Duterte's chagrin, Marcos picked his daughter Sara Duterte as running mate. (Duterte was planning to make her his own political heir.) As Marcos had the support of almost the entire political establishment (despite running as a populist), Duterte did not publicly object to his campaign. However, as differences between the two have become more clear, their rivalry has gone public, and they have even accused each other of being drug addicts.[31] Indeed, Sara proved to be a thorn on Marcos's side, as the younger Duterte have publicly spoke out her objections towards Marcos Jr.'s presidency, particularly Bongbong's falling out with both his erstwhile ally Apollo Quiboloy–who staunchly endorsed him in the 2022 presidential election yet ended up somehow betraying Marcos due in part to a fake news item made against one of Bongbong's relatives–and the Duterte clan in general. In a rally held during the anniversary of Quiboloy's sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), Sara apologised to members of the KOJC of whom she wooed into voting for Bongbong Marcos[32] and lashed out at law enforcement for perceived excessive force during the raids at the Quiboloy estate; the irony is not lost when the Dutertes were called out for crying human rights abuses over their friend and spiritual adviser even when they themselves have been accused of human rights abuses to begin with.[33]

Like father, like daughter[edit]

In November 2024 the current Vice President of the Philippines and daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte ranted about assassinating the current president of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr.[34] This is while the father and daughter power duo were facing a congressional investigation over corruption and human rights violations.[35][36]

The assassination threat Sara Duterte is accused of having given points in two directions: one is to prevent the ICC from getting Rodrigo Duterte after Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration agreed to cooperate with the ICC to prosecute the former President. The other one is related to a corruption investigation Sara Duterte herself is involved in after one of her staff members was ordered to be detained in relation to the congressional hearing over the Vice President misusing funds for questionable reasons. As of December 2024, Congress has been petitioned to impeach Duterte,[37][38] More impeachment complaints have been filed since that petition, and a hearing is scheduled to take place in 2025.[39]. According to a 2025 poll 4 in 10 Filipino voters are in favor for Sara Duterte to be impeached. This comes as more complaints are directed at both Sara and Rodrigo Duterte.[40] As of February 2025 The Philippine House of Representatives has 215 out of 306 votes to have an impeachment trial in the senate. [41] [42] Following her father's arrest in March 2025, Sara claimed that the senior Duterte was held against his will and that the ICC's actions were a violation of the country’s sovereignty. However the ICC argued that they were investigating Duterte for some of the killings leading up to the Philippines pulling out of the ICC membership in 2019.[43] Ever since the 2025 arrest of Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte has held multiple political rallies in the Netherlands demanding that Rodrigo Duterte is released even though the victims of the Drug War and Corruption has some concerns that the Dutertes will taint their testimony. [44]

Stopped clock? Or maybe not...[edit]

In spite of all the lunacy he exhibited both pre-and-post presidency, Duterte still somehow felt that Vladimir Putin, of whom he refers to as a "friend" and an "idol",[45] has needlessly crossed the line with his so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022. He publicly admits having people killed in his bloody campaign against criminals and drug fiends, yet claims to have drawn the line with the idea of invading Ukraine as innocent civilians are caught in the conflict. The irony is not lost as Duterte's own special operation has also needlessly claimed the lives of otherwise innocent civilians lumped together with drug dealers, due process be damned.[46][47]

Arrest[edit]

On March 11, 2025, Duterte was arrested by authorities for crimes against humanity charges upon arrival in Manila[48] after a trip to Hong Kong ostensibly for a Kingdom of Jesus Christ-organized campaign sortie for Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); though it is speculated that the trip may have been a cover for Duterte's flight to evade justice by seeking asylum.[49][50] Richard Heydarian, Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines and author of The Rise of Duterte, opined that the arrest is "highly consequential" on most fronts as it represented a rare opportunity for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring an alleged international criminal to their court and met out justice, something which the ICC was unable to carry out with Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom also have outstanding arrest warrants for similar crimes against humanity.[51]

Some however have noted that the swift pace of Duterte's arrest and subsequent prosecution to The Hague was more of a Machiavellian strategy on Marcos's part to snuff out competition whilst ostensibly presenting themselves as complying with international law; it wasn't so much that they cared about what the ICC found about Duterte's atrocities (in fact, Marcos himself explicitly stated that he isn't directly cooperating with the ICC but rather complied with the Interpol's requests to have the former president turned over), they simply took the opportunity to weaponise an international organisation's investigation against Duterte and his countless crimes against humanity so Marcos's party could gain a majority control over government institutions, further eroding what little control his rivals have over the Philippines.[52]

"HEIL DIGONG!"[edit]

Duterte is notable for having cultivated a personality cult attached to him, his family and posse, both before and after his ascent to the presidency, never mind the numerous atrocities to his name (besides his anti-Catholic rhetoric which even some pious folk in the country somehow overlooked) He enjoyed high approval ratings from ordinary citizens even after he stepped down from public office in 2022,[53][54][55] and leagues of protesters picketed both in his native Philippines[56] and at The Hague where pro-Duterte expatriate Filipinos held protests in support of their Führer after he was arrested and hastily sent there in 2025. Such is Duterte's charm and sway with the people that it inspired grassroots movements such as the Diehard Duterte Supporters and even youth wings like the suspiciously-named Duterte Youth.[note 1] Duterte's enduring popularity has been driven in part by resentment by both expatriate workers[note 2] who struggle to make ends meet for themselves and their families abroad,[57] and disillusionment with the perceived ineptitude and unfulfilled promises by the first and second EDSA revolutions.[58][59][60] To top it all off, commentators have noted that such movements have become part of the global far right and alt-right.[57]

Duterte's rise to national prominence and subsequent enduring popularity had also coincided with the rise of fake news and content farm outlets on Facebook and other social media platforms churning out misleading if not patently bullshit fluff skewed in favour of Duterte's brutal regime through misinformation and other deceitful means, more often than not downplaying if not outright denying that the crackdowns are as brutal as it really is.[61] Pro-Duterte pundits like Mocha Uson, a former exotic dancer and media personality,[62] have been instrumental in keeping the Duterte hype machine alive at all costs, even if Mocha's punditry and administrative competence (or lack thereof) have been subject to both criticism and scorn by the better informed,[63] earning her the pejorative title "Queen of Fake News".[64][65]

In a March 2025 Philippine House of Representatives hearing, several pro-Duterte pundits were called to testify over content they posted on social media. Some of the bloggers – namely Krizette Chu and MJ Quiambao – tearfully apologised to members of Congress over the posts they made online, such as a supposed "mass resignation" of Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers in relation to Duterte's arrest and prosecution, despite the PNP refuting such claims; Chu maintained that the reports were based on impressions i.e. rumours: “That’s why I included ‘daw (supposed)’ — these were impressions.” Quiambao was similarly grilled for a denialist claim that the Drug War was supposedly a hoax, insinuating in her op-ed that some groups were mislabeling their deceased loved ones as extrajudicial killing victims.[66] Also some of the allegations of Fake News related to the Dutertes comes on the heels of two major trials the family is facing. One is the Senate Impeachment Trial of Sara Duterte and the other is the ICC Trial with Rodrigo Duterte. The concerns members of Congress has is the tainting of evidence and witness intimidation of witnesses and victims in relation to both Duterte trials.

Despite all this, Duterte remains a highly polarising figure in his native country, as while swathes of Filipinos are swayed by his bullshit very much like what Hitler did and would defend their grand poobah regardless of his sins, others – particularly the Catholic Church (whom Duterte have repeatedly mocked and cussed at), human rights advocates and progressive circles – have been a Cassandra of sorts reminding the public that Duterte is the evil incarnate with a lot of blood in his hands.[67]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Emily Rauhala, "Duterte: Hitler killed millions of Jews, I will kill millions of drug addicts," The Washington Post, Sep. 9, 2016, as displayed Jun. 10, 2019.
  2. Duterte confirms killing 3 rapist-kidnappers by Kathlyn dela Cruz (Posted at 09 Dec 2015 08:27 PM | Updated as of 10 Dec 2015 01:31 AM) ABS-CBNnews.com
  3. Philippines: Duterte confirms he personally killed three men (16 December 2016) BBC.
  4. Philippines Leader Duterte: I Threw Rape Suspect From Helicopter, Would Do it Again (29 December 2016) NBC News.
  5. See the Wikipedia article on Davao Death Squad.
  6. Promotion And Protection Of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social And Cultural Rights, Including The Right To Development A/HRC/11/2/Add.8 (29 April 2009) UN General Assembly of the Human Rights Council
  7. "You Can Die Any Time": Death Squad Killings in Mindanao (2009) Human Rights Watch.
  8. Conversations with Arturo Lascañas, Part 1: ‘Duterte is the lord of all drug lords in southern Philippines’
  9. Go, Miriam Grace (2024-09-07). "(Closer Look) Drugs, POGOs, Quiboloy: Duterte's tyranny at the service of corruption". Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  10. Duterte jokes that his soldiers can rape women under martial law in the Philippines by Avi Selk (May 27, 2017) The Washington Post.
  11. Duterte: Shoot female rebels in their genitals. Rights groups slam Philippine president for the latest in a series of derogatory and demeaning comments about women. by Ted Regencia (12 Feb 2018) Al Jazeera.
  12. David Gee, "Mass-Murdering Philippines President Says He'Cured' Himself of Being Gay," Friendly Atheist, June 1, 2019. Accessed July 14, 2019.
  13. Duterte meets transgender Gretchen Diez (August 20, 2019)
  14. Duterte, Philippines Holds Invitation Event for LGBT at Presidential Palace (2019-12-19, In Korean) Yonhap News
  15. Rodrigo Duterte Wants to Apologize to Pope Francis for Calling Him a 'Son of a Whore' by Nash (Jenkins May 13, 2016) Time.
  16. Duterte: Catholic Church 'full of shit' by Leila B. Salaverria (07:48 PM January 24, 2017) Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  17. Leading Philippine presidential contender: Gang rape victim ‘so beautiful’ he wishes he had 'been first' by Travis M. Andrews (April 18, 2016) The Washington Post.
  18. Jump up to: 18.0 18.1 Rodrigo Duterte: Philippine president attacks Catholic Church, calls God 'stupid' by Kristine Phillips (July 19, 2018) The Washington Post.
  19. Philippines' top broadcaster ordered off air
  20. Duterte's Media War in the Philippines
  21. [https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1021283
  22. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/12/05/1765508/pdp-laban-accepting-new-members-until-february-2018
  23. https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/405074
  24. https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/09/08/news/headlines/2-chiong-rape-slay-convicts-back-in-jail/612868/
  25. https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/10/duterte-us/505001/
  26. Duterte has his own 'reality distortion field
  27. "International Criminal Court Will Investigate Duterte Over Drug War," Felipe Villamor, New York Times
  28. "ICC prosecutor: Probe of Duterte can’t be stopped," Global Nation Inquirer
  29. Rodrigo Duterte gets info he may be arrested at any time
  30. [https://apnews.com/article/71de48e00c77c70ce37cf67146a94d12. Philippines says it will cooperate if ICC Seeks Duterte’s custody of Drug Killings] Gomez, Jim, ‘’Associated Press’’, 13 November 2024.
  31. Philippines: Is the unstoppable Marcos-Duterte alliance headed for divorce? BBC, 7 May 2024.
  32. Gonzales, Angelo (2024-09-01). "Sara Duterte celebrates KOJC anniversary with thousands of Quiboloy followers". Rappler. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  33. Subingsubing, Krixia (2024-03-14). "VP Sara chided for defending Quiboloy". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  34. Philippine police file criminal complaints against Sara Duterte and her security aides 27 November 2024, Associated Press.
  35. Sara Duterte again skirts questions on confidential funds use 27 November 2024, Rappler.
  36. As Duterte sparks fireworks in the House, a mother weeps, 14 November 2024, Rappler.
  37. Sara Duterte: ‘If I get impeached, then that’s my end’ 28 November 2024, Rappler.
  38. Philippine groups seek impeachment of Vice President Duterte, 2 December 2024, Reuters.
  39. Third impeachment complaint vs. VP Sara Duterte filed in House 19 December 2024, Philippine News Agency.
  40. 4 in 10 Filipinos favor Sara Duterte’s impeachment – SWS 8 January 2025, Rappler.
  41. Philippine Congress paves way for impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, 5 February 2025, Reuters.
  42. Philippines feud escalates as lawmakers vote to impeach vice-president 5 February 2025, BBC News.
  43. Philippine VP Sara Duterte travels to The Hague to help father at ICC 12 March 2025, Al-Jazeera
  44. Rody confident of winning ICC case—Sara, 25 March 2025, The Manila Standard.
  45. Bostock, Bill. "Philippines president who once called Putin his 'idol' slams him for killing civilians in Ukraine, becoming first ally of the Russian president to speak out". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  46. Noriega, Richa (2022-04-12). "Duterte: What Putin is doing in Ukraine deserves condemnation, 'hindi maganda'". GMA News. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  47. Ranada, Pia (2022-05-23). "Duterte to Putin: Control your soldiers, spare civilians". Rappler. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  48. "Rodrigo Duterte: Philippines ex-leader Duterte arrested on ICC warrant over drug killings". BBC. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-11.
  49. Hofileña, Chay F. (March 8, 2025). "ICC arrest warrant for Duterte out?". Rappler. Rappler Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2025. Two weeks ago, there had been word that a warrant was forthcoming and that the Philippine National Police (PNP) had to put in place an arrest plan. That information had apparently been leaked to the Duterte camp — whether deliberately or not is unclear.
  50. Former President Rodrigo Duterte arrested in the Philippines on an ICC warrant over Drug Killings 11 March 2025, ‘’Associated Press’’.
  51. "Duterte arrest 'highly consequential' says Philippines expert". Channel 4 News. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  52. "How Marcos Jr's ICC gambit against Duterte reveals the dark art of Philippine politics". Dimsum Daily. 2025-03-16. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  53. Weedon, Alan (May 10, 2019). "'Gold, guns and goons': Why the Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte remains incredibly popular". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  54. Parrocha, Azer (April 11, 2022). "Duterte's end of term high rating 'rarity' in PH pres'l politics". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  55. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Cruz-2022
  56. "Rodrigo Duterte supporters in the Visayas, Mindanao protest arrest of former president". GMA News Online. March 13, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  57. Jump up to: 57.0 57.1 Bello y Flores, Walden (2019-09-30). "The Global Rise of the Far Right". Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  58. "Why Duterte has to be ousted, and why even that won't be enough to defend ourselves". Rappler. 26 August 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  59. Chua, Ethan (2020-08-29). "The End of Liberal Democracy in the Philippines". Lausan Collective. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  60. Magsalin, S. (2020, March 31). Towards an anarchism in the Philippine archipelago. Southeast Asian Anarchist Library. https://sea.theanarchistlibrary.org/library/simoun-magsalin-towards-an-anarchism-in-the-philippine-archipelago-en Template:Webarchive
  61. Ratcliffe, Rebecca; Lamb, Kate (2025-03-14). "The senator, the priest, the forensic pathologist: the people who brought ex-president Duterte to justice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  62. "Social Media Regulation". Scribd. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
  63. "Mocha Uson's controversial Facebook 'blog' now unavailable". The Philippine Star. March 21, 2020.
  64. Robles, Alan (May 15, 2019). "Philippine midterm elections: Mocha Uson, 'queen of fake news', fails to win House seat". South China Morning Post.
  65. Salaverria, Leila (May 11, 2017). "Mocha Uson to defend Duterte against misinformation in media". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  66. de Leon, Dwight (2025-03-21). "At House hearing, pro-Duterte vloggers apologize for 'fake news,' rude social media post". Rappler. Archived from the original on 2025-03-21. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  67. Calimbahin, Cleo Anne A. "Polarized Opinion: The Arrest of Duterte". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2025-03-24.