Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has taken full responsibility for his administration’s “war on drugs,” as he prepares to make his first appearance at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a video message posted yesterday on his Facebook account, the 79-year-old addressed his “countrymen” and said once again that he had no regrets for the policies he pursued as president.
“Whatever happened in the past, I will be the front of our law enforcement and the military. I said this already, that I will protect you, and I will be responsible for everything,” Duterte says in the video, as per Reuters’ translation. As of this morning, the video had been viewed more than 18 million times.
“This will be a long legal proceeding, but I say to you, I will continue to serve my country. And so be it, if that is my destiny,” he added.
The video appears to have been shot aboard the Gulfstream jet that flew Duterte to The Hague on Tuesday night. Just hours before, Duterte was arrested by Philippine police acting on an arrest warrant issued by the ICC on March 7.
The former leader faces “charges of murder as a crime against humanity” for acts committed between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019. This includes both the extrajudicial killings that marked his ruthless “war on drugs” and murders allegedly carried out on Duterte’s orders in Davao City during his time as mayor of the southern Philippine city. Estimates of the number killed during the anti-narcotics campaign range from 12,000 to 30,000.
Duterte was formally taken into the ICC’s custody on Wednesday and will make his first appearance in court today, the first step in what could be a years-long legal process.
Duterte’s admission of responsibility is consistent with past statements that he has made regarding the “war on drugs,” which he pledged to wage on the presidential campaign trail in 2016. In a speech in January of that year, he said, “My God, I hate drugs. And I have to kill people because I hate drugs.” He vowed to bring peace and order to the country “even if it would cost me my life, my honor, and even my liberty.”
Duterte has continued to defend the policy since leaving office in 2022. Fronting a Senate committee hearing in October, Duterte said that he had “no apologies, no excuses” for his anti-drug measures. “I have warned all of you as a president, then and as a private citizen now,” he said. “Drugs will destroy the Filipino, it will destroy my country, and I will not allow it.”
Given his long track record of defiant admissions and defenses, it would be hard for Duterte to claim innocence. It is still early days, but it appears that Duterte’s legal approach to the ICC will be to challenge its jurisdiction, while using the Philippine courts to challenge the legality of his arrest and transfer to The Hague. At the same time, he will lean into his persona as an unapologetic patriot who sacrificed his freedom in order to cleanse the Philippines of the evil of drugs.
Alongside this performance of martyrdom, his supporters can be expected to mount a campaign of disinformation and street political theater against the Marcos administration and in support of pro-Duterte Senate candidates running for Senate positions in the midterm elections on May 12. Duterte’s reference to defending law enforcement officials and police could also be read as an attempt to cleave their loyalties and capitalize on the apparent support that Duterte still enjoys within the law enforcement agencies.
Regardless of what form it takes, Duterte’s arrest is set to intensify domestic political tensions as the Philippines prepares for what is shaping up as a pivotal election.