FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte, currently detained at the ICC detention center on charges of crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs, reiterated his stance that his actions were for the benefit of the Filipino people.
His daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, relayed his message in a media interview on April 1, 2025, stating, “He just wants to extend his gratitude to all of his supporters from all over the world. ‘I did it for my country,’ that is what he repeatedly says. He wants the Filipino people to know that he did it for his country—he did it for every Filipino all over the world.”
This statement echoes Duterte’s previous defense of his anti-drug campaign during a Senate hearing in October 2024.
At that time, he asserted “full legal responsibility” for the thousands of deaths attributed to extrajudicial killings while maintaining his actions were necessary.
“I did what I had to do, and whether you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” Duterte told senators, offering “no apologies, no excuses” for the campaign. Rights groups estimate as many as 30,000 people were killed by police and vigilantes during his six-year term, which ended in 2022.
The ICC is investigating Duterte’s role in these deaths despite limited domestic convictions.
During his Senate testimony, Duterte defended the campaign, citing the need to combat the spread of narcotics. “I have warned all of you as a president, then, and as a private citizen now,” he said. “Drugs will destroy the Filipino, it will destroy my country, and I will not allow it.”
Duterte’s testimony followed five months of inquiry by the House of Representatives into the drug war.
His supporters have dismissed these hearings as politically motivated, attributing them to a feud between the Duterte and Marcos families.
