‘Day of reckoning’

By Alex P. Vidal 

“Denial, panic, threats, anger-those are very human responses to feeling guilt.” — Joshua Oppenheimer

MANY people, including some Ilonggos who benefited a lot during the Duterte administration, are using their social media accounts to defend former President Rodrigo R. Duterte from persistent allegations he and his minions in the bloody war against illegal drugs will soon be “arrested” by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

These Duterte sympathizers think “it is not fair” to constantly badger the semi–retired politician from Davao with threats of arrest which they compare to a Sword of Damocles.

It is an idiom that refers to a situation that could lead to disaster or harm at any time.

They fear the repeated threats “might harm Mr. Duterte’s health” as he has been reportedly at sick bay every now and then. He turned 79 on March 28, 2024.

Duterte’s defenders have pointed to the “day of reckoning” remarks made by the ex-president’s critics even as they lamented retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio’s statement last week that the investigation of ICC prosecutor into the brutal campaign against illegal drugs “had reached a pivotal point.”

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“I think the day of reckoning is coming closer because what I’m hearing is that a warrant of arrest will be issued by the ICC sometime in September,” Carpio reportedly mentioned in one interview.

Carpio’s statement and those of other anti-Duterte characters in politics and media have also sent shivers down the spine of Duterte’s former underlings led by now Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.

Aside from Carpio, another source of the scary ICC warrant of arrest allegation is former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who has been posting “update” stories about the issue on his X account.

But the Supreme Court has denied it received information regarding a potential warrant of arrest by the ICC for former President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials.

Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez also reportedly denied the information on that matter saying, “the Philippines is no longer part of the ICC and thus, not bound by any of its processes.”

Without offending the former president, we cannot do anything for the time being but to wait in September 2024, the month of the alleged “day of reckoning.”

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U.S. supports the Philippines in the South China Sea. The United States has issued a statement “standing with its ally the Philippines and condemning the dangerous actions by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea on August 19.”

PRC ships employed reckless maneuvers, deliberately colliding with two Philippine Coast Guard ships, causing structural damage and jeopardizing the safety of the crew onboard.

The US said “these actions are the latest examples of the PRC using dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims. “

“The United States calls upon the PRC to abide by international law and desist from its dangerous and destabilizing conduct,” said the statement.

“The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft–including those of its Coast Guard–anywhere in the South China Sea.”

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The United States and the Philippines have reached an agreement on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States.

The U.S. government is supporting necessary services for those Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical, and transportation to complete visa processing.

The United States appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and thanks the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the United States.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)