OPINION | A triumph for justice

March 13, 2025 , 09:04 AM

By Manny Mogato

(March 13, 2025, REUTERS) – The first step to securing justice for thousands of Filipinos killed in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody and brutal war on drugs has started.

But the road to the elusive aspiration of holding the former strongman accountable is still long, tedious, and circuitous.

It will only be achieved if Duterte is successfully prosecuted and convicted of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

But the process has started.

On Tuesday, Duterte was arrested by a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police, led by Major General Nicolas Torre, as soon as his Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong arrived at terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at past 9 a.m.

Duterte was brought to the Villamor Air Base’s VIP Lounge where he awaited transfer to The Hague on a chartered flight via Dubai.

The Gulf Stream 550 left Manila at 11:03 pm, ending a drama that began at 3:04 a.m. when Interpol sent a copy of a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC days earlier.

In a late news briefing minutes after the plane carrying Duterte took off from the Philippine airspace, Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr. stressed the government did not cooperate with the ICC after the Philippines left the Rome Statute in March 2019.

But Marcos admitted the government acceded to the request of the International Police when it requested assistance to arrest Duterte based on an ICC warrant.

Marcos said his government must honor its commitment and comply with Interpol’s request to arrest Duterte because the Philippines is a member of the international law enforcement body.

Interpol had helped the Philippines when it sought to arrest fugitives from local laws, like Chinese national Alice Guo and former Negros Oriental Congressman Arnulfo Teves and many more.

Marcos told reporters it was only pure coincidence that Interpol requested Duterte’s arrest based on an ICC warrant. Interpol holds numerous warrants from many countries worldwide, including the ICC.

Marcos said Manila could not refuse Interpol’s request because of the country’s international obligation.

Of course, Marcos could choose to stall Duterte’s arrest and make a lot of excuses if he and the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, remained political allies.

But there was already a break in the alliance. Sara Duterte has even threatened to kill Marcos, his wife, and his cousin who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Dutertes could not pass the blame on anyone except themselves for their predicament after launching political attacks on the president.

Marcos has removed his gloves and began retaliating in his speeches during political rallies for the midterm elections.

Marcos would be foolish not to take the opportunity to get back at the Dutertes, ultimately trying to destroy their political careers and preventing them from clawing back to power in 2028.

By allowing the ICC to arrest Duterte, through Interpol, Marcos has not only gotten even with the Dutertes but won praises from victims of Duterte’s genocidal policy, human rights advocates, and most Western countries.

However, he was seen as a traitor by Duterte’s supporters, who called for his ouster.

Duterte’s swift departure to The Hague, just hours after his arrest may have reduced tensions and potential political instability that could affect markets already depressed by developments in the United States.

It was a brilliant move to defuse potential political chaos and render futile the legal remedies planned by Duterte’s allies.

The Dutertes were put on the defensive.

Reeling from political attacks over the budget controversy, including Philhealth’s transfer of funds to the Maharlika fund, Marcos has taken back the initiative.

Beyond politics, this is a victory for thousands of victims of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s rule.

The long arm of the law has finally caught Duterte. But justice will have to wait until he is convicted and put away for a long time.

The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.