Be it known that you have given us Filipinos HOPE in seeking justice for the parents and siblings of the thousands of victims who were ordered killed without due process. Hope strengthens us because we know we are not alone.

We are in deep gratitude. Hoping this letter reaches you and the ICC community and the whole world watching. We are forever grateful.

Please be steadfast in your resolve to fulfill the ICC mandate. Do not fret over those seeking to justify what is wrong and to derail your efforts. May the Lord bless you and give you the grace to persevere.

Sincerely,

Bernie V. Lopez, StarGazer column, Daily Tribune, 23 March 2025

(Advance copy sent via Viber and Facebook)

Summary of Social Media Reports.

Reply to a pro-Duterte devotee who said, “To those who celebrate the unlawful arrest of the old man, I sincerely pray that you and your family never fall victim to the very crimes that the old man fought against. Drug addicts are once again present on our streets, and I also hope that none of your loved ones ever fall into the trap of drug addiction.”

This author’s reply:

Makinig. Mag-isip. (Listen. Think.) The end does not justify the means. You cannot justify murder in the name of the war on drugs. Yan ang sabi ng Simbahan (That is what the Church teaches us). If you defend a man who has murdered thousands, kasama ka na rin sa kanyang krimen (you are equally guilty of the crime).

Author Philip Lustre Jr. said, “He (Duterte) was begging Xi to give him asylum, but China was bound to follow the rules of its membership in Interpol.”

Dominador Tersol replied, “Masakit pa yan sa denial ng kanyang US visa.” (That is more painful for Duterte than the denial of his US visa.) This refers to the denial years ago of his visa application by the US, which turned him vociferously and permanently against America.

A second Viber post said Duterte’s trip to Hong Kong was a desperate attempt: 1) to avoid the ICC warrant, and 2) to retrieve billions of dollars, which both failed.

There were also reported attempts to seek asylum in other friendly countries, which all failed, because, finally, Hong Kong airport authorities reportedly denied all the possible “escape routes” to other countries. That was why Duterte had no choice but to go back home to the Philippines to face arrest.

Trump’s support for Duterte was branded a fake, a product of trolls, by discerning knowledgeable news watchers.

Three “co-perpetrators” of Duterte are supposedly in the ICC Prosecutor’s list as the next to be served arrest warrants, namely, Dela Rosa, Danao and Sara. Someone commented that arresting Sara would be “more exciting than arresting Duterte himself.”

Finally,the change in Duterte’s demeanor from an aggressive hard-hitting lion determined to fight it out at all cost to a meek lamb resigned to the slaughterhouse is perhaps his own premonition that he is at the end of his days of glory and at the beginning of his days of infamy.

The ICC is on the verge of the TRIAL OF THE CENTURY, with the initial task of calling to the stand the relatives of victims. This will stretch the trial to a time frame of a decade or two as many observers claim. Sara herself predicted that her father might never leave The Hague prison.