Duterte supporters rally at Times Square in New York City | Photo by Troi Santos
Many historical figures have been symbols of both inspiration and ire, leaders who have made a mark on history as both good and evil. George Washington, who led the first free American Republic that declared “all men are created equal,” owned over 300 slaves. Thomas Jefferson, who stated publicly during his presidency that slavery was an “assemblage of horrors,” owned at least 175 slaves. Even the man who is credited with ending the “peculiar institution” of slavery, Abraham Lincoln, fathered children with women who were enslaved despite signing the Emancipation Proclamation.
This duality exists in contemporary leaders as well. The legacy of former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) demands a more nuanced discourse. It is easy to paint his supporters in the southern region of the country as MAGA-esque, gun-trotting, Trump-like supporters. I recently visited Mindanao during Duterte’s 80th birthday, and I believe there may be parts of this former president’s story worth noting.
On March 28, 2025, Duterte, often referred to as “Tatay Digong,” marked his milestone birthday in captivity at The Hague, facing charges for his brutal War on Drugs. According to United Nations estimates, this policy led to the deaths of approximately 8,000 Filipinos, while the New York Times places the figure as high as 30,000. These extrajudicial killings (EJKs), targeting low-income communities suspected of using or trafficking crystal meth (“shabu”), were carried out by the Philippine National Police under his administration.
However, what is also largely underreported are his instances of generosity and benevolence that he has extended to ordinary people who make a living as farmers. Every Christmas, his family disseminates yuletide gifts, including groceries and gift checks for the poor. The Philstar reported that in 2024, around 40,000 people benefited from his generosity. While Duterte was in office, he raised the salaries of government officials, including educators, police officers, and other blue-collar public servants. He also made healthcare and education more accessible to the poor.
As a black Filipina writer, I cannot ignore the cognitive dissonance we are tolerating on an international scale. The Reagan administration’s War on Drugs resulted in the intergenerational destruction of black and Latino families. The Associated Press review of federal and state incarceration data shows that, between 1975 and 2019, the U.S. prison population jumped from 240,593 to 1.43 million Americans, which means that 1 in 5 people of color were removed from participation in the American citizenry – the mass incarceration of people coined by scholar Melissa Alexander as “The New Jim Crow.” It is worth examining why an official estimate of 8,000 mass deaths is a more significant object of adjudication than the social destruction of the social fabric in black and brown communities. This generational trauma significantly widened the racial wealth gap in the United States.
In 2017, GMA News reported that Pulse Asia’s survey revealed that 8 in 10 Filipinos supported the War on Drugs in the Philippines. Most interestingly, the War on Drugs has not ended and continues to be in operation today under the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. (PBBM) administration. PBBM is the son of the 20-year dictator ousted by the People’s Power Revolution in 1986. PBBM ran his presidential campaign on the promise that he would have a more humane approach to combat drug trafficking in the Philippines. Since he was sworn in in June 2022, figures detailing the rising death counts of PBBM’s Drug War have been underreported by the current administration. Earlier this year, the Council on Foreign Relations reported that the current Marcos administration has continued the violent policies of his predecessor.
“Better yet, perhaps we can live by the principles outlined by the UN Charter, which guarantees peace. If peace and dignity require economic stability, maybe then the logical step forward is full reciprocity. At the very least, the Philippines should demand the same visa-free privileges it extends to Western nations.”
One of the sharpest points of divergence between the Marcos and Duterte dynasties is their stance on geopolitical alliances. Duterte famously rejected Western influence, refusing to bow to the demands of foreign powers. He made headlines in 2019 by returning mislabeled Canadian trash to its source, asserting the Philippines’ sovereignty. He also shifted diplomatic allegiances toward China, publicly insulting figures like Pope Francis and former U.S. President Barack Obama, calling them “sons of whores.”
It is no mystery why the Western world has viewed him unfavorably. However, some people are ardent supporters of Duterte. On his 80th birthday, Duterte supporters worldwide, from Times Square to the streets of Koronadal, celebrated his birthday with protests and prayer rallies. “I’ve seen what Tatay Digong has done for us, he really loves every Filipino. He loves poor people, even during COVID he made sure everyone in every social class had access to services. He kept his governance transparent, and it was the first time we had a leader who made significant strides to dismantle corruption,” says Nonoy Peñalosa, the head organizer of the Koronadal prayer rally.
Senator Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios “Imee” Marcos-Manotoc, the elder sister of President Marcos, recently denounced Duterte’s arrest as a submission to foreign interests. “Here we are watching a fellow Filipino, a leader, a father, a grandfather—who served his country—taken not by his own people but by outsiders who claim the right to judge him,” she argued. “Since when was the Philippines a nation of The Hague?”
For many Filipinos, Duterte’s prosecution by an international court feels like an act of colonial subjugation. If the Filipino people are to be judged by Western legal standards, should they not also be granted the privileges afforded by Western nations?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to movement, yet Filipinos must navigate stringent visa policies when traveling to countries claiming to uphold human rights. However, Western nations can stay without a visa for 30 days when traveling to the Philippines.
Better yet, perhaps we can live by the principles outlined by the UN Charter, which guarantees peace. If peace and dignity require economic stability, maybe then the logical step forward is full reciprocity. At the very least, the Philippines should demand the same visa-free privileges it extends to Western nations.
Then, maybe in a few generations, we would all be American.
Editor’s Note: The Philippine Daily Mirror welcomes Elaine J.E.. Degale as a columnist. Ms. Degale’s column, The Dreamweaver, will appear every Thursday. Her articles will be in the guest column as her handle is being prepared. Her initial column, We Are Sub-Saharan, was published on March 23, 2025.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elaine Joy Edaya Degale is a Black-Filipina writer and lecturer at community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY) and has an Ed.M. and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
She graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, where she studied International Relations and Development, and continues to support literacy and food programming efforts in Indigenous communities through her Community-Based organization, OperationMerienda.org.
