The arrest of past president Rodrigo Duterte who was flown to The Hague to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and face trial for murder qualified as crime against humanity is the hot topic of conversations among Filipinos in Barcelona.
As of this writing, we are watching the pre-trial proceedings of the former president at The Hague. Atty. Medialdea, Duterte’s counsel, was allowed to manifest before the Court and he manifested that Duterte was allegedly “abducted” before he was flown to The Hague.
You can hear our “kababayans” talking or arguing about Duterte’s arrest and detention at The Hague while riding in buses and subway trains, in restaurants and bars, as well as in the parks and ramblas, and in the churchyards. They’re also posting their opinions and sentiments about the manner of arrest and the personality of Duterte.
However, instead of delving into the legality of the arrest and the detention of the former strongman, including the jurisdiction of the ICC, our OFWs mostly talked, discussed, and debated among themselves about the kind of man Duterte is and what he had done wrong and/or good for or against them and the country.
A friend, Ben, whom I frequently chance upon in the subway as we attend the same church mass service, sent a text message gleefully announcing the arrest of the man who called God “stupid.”
As I recall, Ben, who is a eucharistic minister, told me that he and the other OFWs who voted Duterte for president, regretted voting for him because of his blasphemous remarks against God and his open disdain for the Catholic church after he became the president.
He said that soon, Duterte will be punished for his blasphemous remarks against God.
I asked him why he and his friends voted for him in the first place. Ben told me that he and his co-workers in Barcelona were convinced by fellow OFWs who they socialized with every weekend that Duterte is a man of the masses who empathizes with the plight of OFWs.
Indeed, during his presidency, Duterte was able to fulfill his promise to OFWs through several successful welfare programs that endeared him to those who consider him as the “father of migrant workers.”
Nonetheless, Ben and his co-workers who are devout Catholics changed their views on Duterte because of his blasphemous and irreverent remarks against the Catholic church and its teachings.
The Parish Council also discussed Duterte’s comments against Christian doctrines and his criticism against the Pope, his “immoral,” ill-mannered behavior, and vulgar remarks that have been deemed unbecoming of the president of a Catholic-dominated country.
Ben added that Duterte’s hardline platform against crime and corruption was also a major factor for Duterte’s overwhelming election as president. Soon after he took office, Duterte used his method of reducing crimes in Davao City in his nationwide war against drugs. He had previously announced “many bodies will be dumped in Manila Bay that fishes would grow from feeding.”
He also publicly stated he would kill suspected drug dealers and also urged the public to kill addicts.
Duterte also took in his police enforcer in Davao City as PNP director and who later became a senator of the country.
His brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings (EJK) against drug dealers and users resulted in the actual reduction of crimes, especially on drug abuse. In fact, Duterte’s popularity ratings soared high at the start of his term as president and made his EJK enforcers senators.
However, Duterte’s drug war resulted in thousands of EJKs (including the death of innocent civilians falsely accused or caught in the crossfire) which he proudly publicly admitted to be his responsibility. Ben concluded that Duterte is an immoral person.
He did not consider the drug addicts, drug dealers, and innocent individuals who were killed anyway as human beings. He disregarded the fact that we live in a civilized society and have adopted the democratic system of government where the perpetrator of even the most heinous crime is given their day in court.
While indeed our country’s crime index fell greatly during his term, the means to realize could never be justified, in the eyes of God and before humankind.
Ben said past president Duterte and his cohorts may still be forgiven by the God that he blasphemed against, but he must learn to admit and confess his sins, to save his soul, especially in the season of Lent.
