Worthy Christian News > World News > Duterte Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ For War on Drugs (Worthy News In-Depth)

Duterte Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ For War on Drugs (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANILA/THE HAGUE (Worthy News) – Ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration’s “war on drugs” that killed thousands and is ready for a battle with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Dutch city of The Hague.

“Whatever happened in the past, I will be the front of Our law enforcement and the military. I said this already: I will protect you, and I will be responsible for everything,” Duterte explained on the social media platform Facebook, which was distributed on Thursday.

His remarks were his first since being put on a plane to The Hague to stand trial at the ICC as the first former Asian leader.

The footage appeared to have been recorded aboard the aircraft that brought him Wednesday to the Rotterdam-The Hague airport. “To my countrymen, just to give you the current situation. I am about to land,” he said, adding later in the more than two-minute video clip: “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.”

Wearing a white shirt and talking slowly, the 79-year-old told his followers he was healthy despite his reported medical treatment in Dubai on his way from Manila to the Netherlands.

“I am okay, do not worry,” he said.

In a statement, the ICC said Duterte was “surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Court. He was arrested by the authorities of the Republic of the Philippines…for charges of murder as a crime against humanity”.

ICC JUDGE

He will be brought before an ICC judge in The Hague in the coming days for an initial appearance, the statement said. He was transferred to a detention unit on the Dutch coast.

Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, will face allegations of crimes against humanity for overseeing death squads in his anti-drugs crackdown.

During his six years in office, at least 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, according to official the police’s counts. Investigators said the actual number could be tens of thousands.

The charges at the ICC over alleged extrajudicial killings cover the period November 1, 2011, through March 16, 2019, according to sources familiar with the case. The dates cover the first three years of Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2019, and the preceding years when he was mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao.

As news emerged of his detention, family members and activists of those who died in extrajudicial killings held a vigil in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. “Through our prayers and the people who helped us – we did not expect to achieve something like this,” said Christine Pascaul, the mother of a drug war victim. “[We did not expect that] a president, someone like Duterte, will receive a warrant of arrest.”

However, “This is only the start of our fight,” added LIore Pasco, another mother of a drug war victim. “Our justice has not yet been achieved because there’s still a lot of things that will happen. But we will not stop fighting,” she added.

The war on drugs here has been labeled a war on the poor, and generating the money for a final resting place could be too difficult for some families. Filipino Catholic leaders who have helped families welcomed Duterte’s detention.

CRUCIAL STEP

In a statement, the social justice arm of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) said Duterte’s arrest “is a crucial step toward addressing the countless human rights violations committed under his administration.”

The CMSP is a 54-year-old organization of male and female religious superiors who resisted Ferdinand E. Marcos’s dictatorship from 1972 to 1986. Marcos is the father of the current Philippine president who succeeded Duterte.

“True peace can only emerge when past wrongs are acknowledged, and those responsible are held to account,” the CMSP said in a statement that was read at a thanksgiving Mass on the morning of 12 March. “Duterte’s ICC warrant is not just a legal matter – it is a moral call for justice and truth.”

The statement added: “We call on the Philippine government to fully cooperate with the ICC’s investigation and arrest orders. Justice must not be obstructed, and Duterte, along with those who enforced and enabled his reign of terror, must face the consequences of their actions.”

The organization emphasized that this “is not about vengeance but about upholding the dignity of every person, especially the poor and vulnerable.”

In a separate statement, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines welcomes the latest developments in Duterte’s ICC case.

“For years, former president Duterte has claimed that he is ready to face the consequences of his actions. Now is the time for him to prove it,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of Caritas Philippines.

TRUE JUSTICE

“True justice is not about political allegiance or personal loyalty. It is about accountability, transparency, and the protection of human dignity.“

Church charity Caritas Philippines noticed that based on recent testimonies, the drug war killings during Duterte’s term “were state-sanctioned.”

“These killings were not random; they were part of a policy that violated the fundamental right to life,” said Caritas Philippines Vice-President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza. “The families of the victims deserve truth, reparations, and justice. As a nation, we must ensure that such crimes never happen again.”

Duterte had a tense relationship with the Roman Catholic Church in this former Spanish colony, where nearly 79 percent of the population, or about 85 million people, identify as Roman Catholic, the Catholic Herald newspaper reported.

When he was a presidential candidate, Duterte reportedly called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” for causing heavy traffic during the pontiff’s 2015 trip to the Philippines. When he was president, Duterte called God “stupid” for allowing Adam and Eve to sin.

He also threatened to kill bishops and priests whom he branded as drug addicts, Catholic Church sources said. “Nevertheless, a vast majority in this predominantly Catholic nation supported Duterte during his six-year term,” commented the Catholic Herald.

This was followed in 2022, when Filipinos elected his daughter as vice president and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the late dictator’s son, president in an overwhelming vote, defying warnings from Catholic clergy.

NO APOLOGY

Duterte himself did not appear in a mood to apologize for his blood-tainted legacy. It reminded reporters of his statements during the presidential campaign: “Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men, and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you.”

As longtime mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte was known as “the punisher” for his harsh policies. His profanity-packed speeches and death threats to drug gangs were a feature of his successful campaign for the presidency in 2016.

He said his campaign in Davao kept citizens safe from crime. During the campaign, he also reiterated his intentions for a violent crackdown.

“I say let’s kill five criminals every week so that they will be eliminated,” he told reporters.

By the end of 2016, Duterte’s war on drugs was well underway across the nation, and the body count was setting records. Police killed more than 2,000 people in the months after Duterte was inaugurated on June 30 until the end of the year. Most of the deaths were described as shootouts.

Families of some of those killed and human rights advocates later exhumed bodies. Accompanied sometimes by journalists, they compared the remains with death certificates and official reports.

Dozens of cases showed violent deaths where the death certificates listed natural causes. In at least one case, the death certificate listed pneumonia as the cause of death, although the skull of the exhumed body had a bullet hole.

The ICC prosecutor has said as many as 30,000 may have been killed by police or unidentified individuals over the years. Yet some supporters told Worthy News they prayed that he would be released. “He kept us safe. I know that millions still love him,” a municipality worker said.