IN DEFENSE OF PRRD

PRRD

IN DEFENSE OF PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE

By Paulino Misa

22 April 2025

We come before the world today not just to defend a man, but to awaken global conscience to a dangerous injustice — one that threatens the very soul of a nation and the integrity of international law.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte — former President of the Philippines, the most outstanding leader the country has ever known, a true living hero, and the architect of the nation’s dramatic turnaround in safety, dignity, and sovereignty — now finds himself under siege. Not by his people, but by a foreign court whose grasp of our reality is incomplete, and whose investigation appears tragically misguided.

This is the same President who delivered peace to once war-torn communities, who liberated cities from narco-politics and criminal capture, who brought fear to the powerful preying on the weak, a

nd who elevated the dignity of ordinary Filipinos — especially the poor, the forgotten, and the marginalized. His war on drugs, while controversial abroad, was seen by millions at home as a war for their children’s future. The true measure of his leadership is not in the headlines abroad, but in the hearts of the Filipino people.

Yet today, the man who gave voice to the voiceless and protected his people in ways no other leader dared, is being prosecuted based on the testimony and provocations of his enemies — individuals who now sit in positions of power, having clawed their way back through shameless deceit, betrayal of the people’s trust, and the reemergence of medieval impunity.

It must be understood: the charges against PRRD are not the cries of victims, but the revenge of those who were left behind in the wake of his sweeping reforms. These are the same elites who have long ruled the Philippines with inherited wealth, political dynasties, and impunity, and who now shamelessly use international institutions to exact retribution for their fall from power.

Worse still, these elites seem to be deeply intertwined with the very drug syndicates PRRD sought to dismantle — a connection betrayed by their extraordinary vehemence in condemning the War on Drugs. Their narrative curiously recasts hardened criminals as helpless victims while ignoring the undeniable improvements in public safety, dignity, and peace that millions of law-abiding citizens overwhelmingly recognize and appreciate.

Their rise was not a triumph of democracy, but of deception — a betrayal of the Filipino people who had once again placed their hopes in a government that would protect, not plunder, them. And to our horror, these same individuals are now weaponizing global mechanisms, turning a court of justice into an arena of political warfare.

The problem is compounded — if not actually also caused — by the subservience of the current administration under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the geopolitical schemes of the United States, particularly against China. The Philippines, under such influence, is now a candidate to become another Ukraine — a flashpoint in a proxy war between superpowers. This is a course PRRD would never have allowed. He upheld an independent foreign policy and sought peaceful, mutually respectful relations with all nations, including China and the United States.

Clarification on PRRD’s Position on the U.S.:Let there be no misunderstanding — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is not, and has never been, against the United States as a nation, its people, or the enduring friendship that binds our countries. What he firmly stood against — and what many Filipinos continue to question — are specific U.S. policies that have historically compromised the Philippines' sovereignty, hindered our development, and endangered our national security in the guise of partnership.

PRRD’s stand is rooted in a deep love for country — a commitment to an independent foreign policy where Filipinos are no longer pawns in anyone’s geopolitical chessboard.

Filipinos, in fact, hold a deep affection for America, as seen in the millions of Filipino families who now call the U.S. their home. It is unthinkable for us to support anything that would threaten American security — not only because of our shared history, but because our lives and futures are intertwined across both shores.

But that same mutual respect must be reflected in U.S. foreign policy toward the Philippines. Just as Americans would never allow another country to dictate their policies or disrespect their sovereignty, we too must demand that our national interests be recognized — not dismissed or overruled in pursuit of someone else’s agenda.

Respect must be mutual. Just as we decry the ICC’s intrusion into matters best resolved by Filipinos, we also urge the United States to see our path, our choices, and our dignity — not as threats, but as the rightful expressions of a sovereign people striving to chart their own future.

The irony is that while it seems only the United States has the power to influence the course of the ICC’s case against PRRD — and while it publicly claims to be at odds with the ICC — it can hardly be expected to intervene. Why? Because its own geopolitical strategy relies on keeping the Philippines aligned to its military plans against China. This unfortunate reality also helps explain why U.S. media remain largely unsympathetic to PRRD’s plight, despite their supposed defense of fairness and justice.

So we ask — what then is our recourse?

Where can justice be found, when the very institutions meant to uphold it become tools in the hands of those who would distort it?

Our hope now lies in the global community — in the truth-loving, justice-defending, democracy-respecting peoples and nations of the world — to stand with the Philippines, and to see this for what it is: a politically motivated attack on a leader who dared to serve his people more than the powers that be.

To the International Criminal Court: reconsider. Look deeper. Understand the broader context. Justice cannot be served by becoming the unwitting instrument of those who oppose it.

To the international press: look beyond the recycled narratives and see the grief of a nation that once had a President who feared no one but God, and who defended his people with courage and love.

And to our friends in the global community: we are not asking for your pity. We are asking for your fairness, your courage, and your voice.

History will remember this moment. Let it remember that when one of the bravest sons of the Philippines stood accused, the world did not stay silent.

Stand with truth. Stand with justice. Stand with the Filipino people.

Stand with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

FREE PRRD NOW. The Filipino people NEED his wisdom and guidance once again to finally put the country back on the path that was so brazenly reversed.