Opposition-led groups on Wednesday marked former president Rodrigo Duterte’s first year in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying his arrest was a "milestone."
In a statement, Akbayan party-list said it was “a historic milestone in the fight for justice where a mass-murdering tyrant was silenced by the people.”
Akbayan president Rafaela David said that their victory “was not the result of the dynastic war between the Marcoses and the Dutertes, but the product of years of courage and persistence from ordinary Filipinos.”
“This did not fall from the sky. It was not handed to us by warring political dynasties… It was won through the relentless struggle of families who lost loved ones, communities who demanded truth, justice and accountability, and ordinary Filipinos who insisted that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law,” she said.
David said that Duterte’s first year in detention was a “moral victory.”
“For one year now, the Filipino people have been spared the daily spectacle of Duterte’s authoritarian bluster, misogynistic remarks, and violent rhetoric that normalized cruelty and killing in our public life,” she said.
“In many ways, a year without Duterte, who thrived in the limelight and glorified mass violence, is already a victory,” David added.
Meanwhile, Tindig Pilipinas also played a video of Duterte’s former spokesman, Harry Roque, himself a fugitive in Europe, wishing then senator Leila de Lima a “happy anniversary” in detention. De Lima, now the party-list representative for Mamamayang Liberal, was released in November 2023.
