14/03/2025
Duterte has been sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague by Marcos Jr. The ICC that issued the warrant for Duterte is actually a quite nobody organization. It has issued warrants for Putin and Netanyahu, but no one cares. The Philippines withdrew from the treaty in 2019, but Marcos Jr. still sent Duterte there.
The war on drugs during Duterte's term is certainly not perfect, but in a country like the Philippines where drug traffickers are so powerful, such iron-blooded means must be used to achieve results, otherwise the Philippines will be like Mexico. The Filipino understand this best, and Duterte's war on drugs has actually won the support of 90%+ of the Filipino people.
Duterte's biggest mistake was to naively choose to cooperate with the Marcos family, supporting Marcos Jr. as president in exchange for Duterte's daughter as the next president. However, Marcos Jr. broke the promise. He wanted his power to last longer like his father, and he wanted to completely eliminate the Duterte family from Philippine politics. Such a trick was very common in ancient Chinese court politics.
But I think Marcos Jr. made a huge mistake. Sending Duterte to The Hague will actually increase the support of Duterte's daughter in the Philippines. The Filipino populists, who were incited by Marcos Jr. through anti-China propaganda, will not accept their former president being tried by the ICC. This is a huge insult to the entire Philippines.
Marcos Jr. thought he could do whatever he wanted in the Philippines with the support of the United States, but sending Duterte to The Hague will be a turning point in his political career. Every time Duterte appears in The Hague in the future, it will arouse the anger of the Filipinos. The people will stand up against him and support Duterte's daughter, and China's power in the SCS will balance the support of the United States for him. Marcos Jr. will eventually pay the price for his stupidity and arrogance.
