ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina—‘Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum’ is an ancient Roman saying that translated to English means ‘let justice be done though the heavens fall’ and that perhaps should serve to quell the ongoing raging socio-political polarization of the Filipino people over the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his impending trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
That ancient Roman saying by the way was mentioned by the late district attorney Jim Garrison as portrayed by Hollywood legend Kevin Costner in the 1991 film JFK when Garrison was grilled by reporters on the potential fallout of his decision to bring to trial the suspects in the assassination of US president John F. Kennedy.
And to be honest that’s just about as far as I wanted to write about this whole issue after spending days reading social media posts that were either for or against Duterte’s arrest, detention and impending trial in The Hague, Netherlands. Last I read, the ICC will focus on 43 out of the 3,000 cases of extra-judicial killings (EJKs) that were raised against him during his tenure as Davao city mayor from 2011 to 2016 up to his presidency in 2016 to 2019, when the Philippines quit its ICC membership.
I did take up law school and once worked in the courts—I took up legal studies in the US by the way—-but at this point I’m just tired with having to sift through all the legalese by the lawyers on both sides of the spectrum. Let those with the patience and understanding discuss the finer legal points of the Duterte arrest and trial in their social media accounts. Me, I’ll content myself with watching the news thank you.
And like anyone of us, we all have our biases on this issue. Whether we be Duterte fanatics or haters, lawyers, elected local officials, media practitioners and just your everyday average Juan/a dela Cruz trying to scrape a living while being a Maritess, nearly all of us have our own opinions on the former president’s predicament. Just don’t let these differences polarize us as a people and as a country.
At the end of the day, the arrest, detention and impending trial of Duterte is not about how his most ardent followers nor his detractors love or hate him because those who will preside over his trial at The Hague don’t care about all that. Their laser-eyed focus will be concentrated on the 43 cases of extrajudicial killings that were supposedly inextricably linked to the former Davao City mayor and Philippine president.
I would write on at least two observations I have on the aftermath of the event and I don’t expect everyone to agree with me on this so allow me to talk about it. First, you can say all you want about Duterte but on the day of his arrest he didn’t blame the arresting officers nor his former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, who’s now seeking Senate protection from Interpol arrest. I can only imagine what dela Rosa is feeling right now as the possibility of being tagged as an accomplice looms like a large shadow of a Damocles sword hanging over his domed shaven head.
Instead of whining and resisting arrest—the resistance was done by his partner and their daughter—Duterte took his arrest like a man and willingly yielded to the arresting officers, some of whom I noticed were unable to look him straight in the eye. Whether it be caused by sadness or loathing for Duterte I don’t know but it does speak volumes about the weight of the former president’s presence and influence.
That for me is a strong statement of accountability on Duterte’s part. If memory serves, Duterte did acknowledge the possibility of him being arrested and brought to trial on charges of allegedly ordering the EJKs either in the Philippines or abroad and all he asked should that happen was for him to be detained in a comfortable holding cell—with a mosquito net, he wistfully remarked—with stacks of books to read while in detention.
Again that for me speaks of a man ready and willing to face his fate and the consequences of his actions which is something that no Filipino politician had the guts or courage to muster and accept. Rather than engage in finger pointing, Duterte surrendering to the police meant that the buck stops with him. Even with the real inevitability of arrest, Duterte didn’t shirk away and turned himself over to the police.
By the way, not a few people commented on how sickly Duterte looked while on en route to The Hague but at his age—he’s one year shy of reaching his 80th birthday on March 28—and the years of public office taking a toll, it’s unsurprising. Still, anyone taking nearly non-stop flights from Hong Kong to Manila and Manila to the Netherlands would also look haggard. And he’s also taking 27 maintenance medicines a day to boot.
Hopefully for his sake, Duterte would recover and appear dignified for his court appearances at the ICC. Which brings me to this second observation—and forgive my religious bent—and that is considering that the Lenten season is upon us let’s set aside whatever vitriol and hate to be heaped on Duterte even if he himself didn’t regret cursing God and the Pope during his speeches.
Now that’s he all alone in his cell, Duterte may ponder on all the things that happened to him and perhaps, just perhaps, find time to take his own personal journey of epiphany and healing. Redemption is central to Christian theology, often understood as the act of Jesus Christ paying the price for humanity’s sin and freeing people from the bondage of sin.
The cynical would laugh at the thought of Duterte being a poster boy of redemption but if God can forgive and love even those with the hardest of hearts, maybe we who profess to be Christians can also do the same even to someone like Duterte. But lest we engage in yet another drawn out debate I do realize that Duterte is not on some religious retreat but is in a European country to face trial for allegedly committing crimes against humanity.
And so we leave it at that; Duterte will have his day in court despite the rallies and social media protests of his devotees and for now what we can do is monitor the proceedings as it goes. But we cannot ignore the major turbulence caused by Duterte’s arrest and how it would impact on the May 2025 mid-term elections and by extension the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Talk about lousy timing for the administration. Quo Vadis, Philippines.
