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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte's arrest a 'moral victory' for women, says Bataan solon

Duterte's arrest a 'moral victory' for women, says Bataan solon

Published Mar 11, 2025 01:05 pm

At A Glance

  • Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman described former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a moral victory for women who lost loved ones during the bloody drug war.

20250311_210025.jpgBataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB)

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A moral victory for women who lost loved ones during the bloody drug war.

That's how Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman described former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

“I think this is also a moral victory for women, especially for those mothers, for those wives, for those daughters who have lost a loved one because people have decided to ignore the rule of law,” Roman said in a press conference Tuesday, March 11.

Incidentally, March is Women Month. International Women’s Day was celebrated only last March 8.

Referring to inordinate number of deaths during Duterte's anti-narcotics drive, Roman said stressed that nothing could surpass the pain of a mother losing a child, especially in a campaign that denied thousands of Filipinos the right to due process.

“Lahat ng kanyang pangarap, lahat ng ‘yung buhay na kinitil, ang kinabukasan ng batang nawawala, ng kanyang anak. Maaring i-argue ng ibang tao na mga drug addict naman ‘yan; how sure are you?” she asked.

(All of their dreams, all of the lives that were ended, the lost future of a missing child, her child. Other people might argue that they're drug addicts; how sure are you?)

Duterte administration critics say that up to 30,000 people died during the war on drugs.

Roman, the chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, says the justice system is in place precisely to prevent innocent individuals from being executed without due process.

The former president was arrested upon arrival in Manila from Hong Kong, where he was met with a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC for his role in alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) committed during his administration’s drug war.

Roman said that many Filipinos initially supported Duterte's drug war, but its brutal and unlawful nature had been exposed over time.

“Di naman pwedeng you (You can't just) totally ignore our existing laws, the judicial process, just so you can obtain your goals. The end does not justify the means. And palagay ko napapatunayan naman natin yan ngayon (I think we proved that today),” she noted.

Related Tags

International Criminal Court (ICC) War on drugs Geraldine Roman Rodrigo Duterte
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