The Politics of Our Time

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By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD 

It was March 30, 2025. A big crowd was beginning to fill in the streets of downtown Davao City. The people were celebrating the birthday of the former President. But the man was not there. He was somewhere else, rxtrajudicially rendered to The Hague. The enemies of President Rodrigo Duterte will easily label the mass gathering as another attempt of the leader to win the sympathy of the masses. But that is not the case. 

Unlike mass movements that are well oiled and financed by powerful oligarchs and other interests groups, the event was simply an expression of the love of a people who found the strength of will in their leader's struggle. Indeed, this was a new unfolding in Philippine politics. Mass events happened before but it was due to the fact that people are already fed up with the injustice they suffered from. This time, they only want one thing - they all want President Duterte to be brought back home.

Indeed, there's a need to understand such political spectacle. The judgment depends on which side of the fence you belong. There are those who say that the former President has to answer the charges against him, while it can be argued that his arrest was illegal. His lawyers at the ICC have questioned the court's jurisdiction. A subsequent Committee Hearing at the Senate revealed the sinister plan to send the former President to The Hague so that he becomes out of reach of the jurisdiction of Philippine courts. 

The politics of our day is just like the wars past and present. It's the battle between two houses. Political conflict is seen as the reason for such and nothing more. Indeed, this is the picture of Philippine democracy. It is contested, says Nathan Quimpo. President Duterte has been called The Punisher and Trump of the East. In fact, those who parade themselves as the guardians of public morals say that what is happening is about justice. Yet, an argument can be made. It's not about justice. It's all about politics.

President Duterte's maverick style is the type of leadership that defies convention. Labeled unfairly by his enemies and the intelligensia in Manila, the leader remains well loved by the people of Davao and the Bisaya-speaking Filipinos, especially by Overseas Filipino Workers. Indeed, Duterte represented the struggle against elite rule in the country. The former chief executive's legacy cannot be defined by his war against criminality. He solved many urgent problems, including the Manila-Maynilad water rate issue. 

But Duterte's biggest accomplishment is the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, rectifying years of historical injustice. This finally gave peace to Muslim Mindanao after a protracted conflict that has claimed the lives of more than a hundred thousand. In truth, while someone is claiming to be the author of a law making college education in state universities and colleges free, it was actually Duterte who instructed Congress during his term to secure the funds for the future of thousands. I need not say more. 

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