From an objective standpoint, former President Rodrigo Duterte is way smarter than what most detractors give him credit for. The hearing in the Senate a few days ago is case in point.

When asked whether or not the Davao Death Squad exists, he was quick to point out that the PNP should not be implicated in the issue because the police, he stressed, have nothing to do with it.

Then, he went on to admit the existence of the same death squad but was quick to clarify it was composed of criminals. This was a clever take because for one, he was able to draw attention away from the police who were essentially the subject of the investigation, particularly their participation in his brutal war on drugs.

This is why while he publicly took full responsibility for his anti-drug war policy, he also pointed out that he never implemented the so-called reward system, saying it wouldn’t make sense because it is the job of the PNP to begin with to address issues relating to drugs and other apropos crimes. In fact, he also emphasized that if the police had erred and abused their authority, it is their look out because they went beyond the instructions given to them.

He said the blame should not shift to him because guilt is personal. Meanwhile, he said that while he gave them “pointers” on how they can “apprehend criminals” by “encouraging” them to provoke them, he was just talking about how they could justify their actions legally based on his experience as a prosecutor, but was not in any way giving them a license to commit abuses.

A lot of his critics though pointed out that his admissions are enough to hold him criminally liable in court. This is not correct. What he stated are general pronouncements which would not hold water in court.

Just because he admitted, for instance, that he has a death squad does not necessarily mean he is automatically responsible for any specific case of extrajudicial killing in Davao.

He could simply dismiss any allegation by saying that his squad is not responsible for that specific murder. The same is true as regards his war on drugs. He could simply say he never authorized that particular killing.

Now, if his critics would insist otherwise, that would be deemed speculative unless they have factual pieces of admissible evidence in court which they can present other than his statement.

At the end of the day, Duterte is not some dumb witness who decided to testify so he could incriminate himself. He knows what he’s doing. He attended that hearing so he could have a platform that would allow him to turn the tide, so to speak.

In one fell swoop, not only was he able to awaken his supporters to rally behind him, but he likewise succeeded at creating a more convincing narrative that is advantageous to him.

In fact, his suggestion that his opponents should probably file a case in court instead could be a clever ploy to deny the International Criminal Court from further taking cognizance of his case considering that charges in local courts are made.

Duterte, his opponents should realize is not some publicity-hound wannabe. There’s a reason why he won the presidency and had maintained high approval ratings throughout his term. This was not by some stroke of sheer luck but by cunning calculated moves that critically played on his own persona and strengths.

The same thing can actually be said about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who incidentally won the election because he knew who he was and how he could better present himself in public.

Well, these happen to be two statesmen who just know how to navigate our personality-based political landscape.