The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte is not merely a legal strategy but a political earthquake that sent shockwaves around the nation. With the collaboration of the International Criminal Court (ICC), this present administration has guaranteed his arrest, further worsening the political chasm rather than national unity. This action potentially plunges the nation into chaos, sending it towards an unstable and uncertain cliff.
Duterte’s term was marked by a bloody war on drugs, an initiative which he claimed was in line with the desire of a country to be free from this menace. He invited all those engaged in the drug trade to surrender and reform, but others did not listen, hence shortening their lives as a result. The war’s victims, classified as extrajudicial killings, were viewed by Duterte and his supporters as collateral damage, an unfortunate yet necessary by-product of an unremitting battle. His policies, though divisive, were supported by those who viewed drug crime as a plague left unchecked for too long.
The move of the current government to back the ICC in having Duterte arrested is seen as a betrayal of national sovereignty. First, the Philippines was already out of the ICC during Duterte’s presidency, its justice system being enough to address the issue. Second, it opened the door for a foreign entity to intrude and determine what is just, undermining the country’s sovereignty and exposing it to manipulation by foreign entities. Third, it creates a potentially dangerous precedent, where any leader is vulnerable to being prosecuted by foreigners, undermining national institutions.
Rather than laboring to mend a fractured nation, the leadership opted to dig up political grudges. While Duterte’s detention is viewed as justice—it also arouses the wrath of his die-hard apologists, further straining tensions between rival camps. The nation stands now at the precipice of descending into a political chasm, where the politics of revenge is the basis for national policy instead of working towards progress. With entrenched animosities rekindled, the country teeters on the brink of social unrest.
There’s a need to lead the nation away from this path of destruction. National unity should come before party interests and in the face of temptation to settle political scores. The rule of law must be applied with absolute impartiality and justice so that it does not become a tool for political maneuvering. Most importantly, the government has to gain the people’s confidence by demonstrating that this is not vengeance but actual justice. If the country persists on this track of political polarization, old sores will continue to get infected, with the country stuck in endless conflict.
