by Melissa Alipalo
On March 11, 2025, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in the Philippines on a warrant by the International Criminal Court. The Philippine media and human rights groups estimate his war against drugs resulted in the murder of more than 30,000 people over a 6-year period.
Forget the laws on human rights.
I am a man of many flaws and contradictions.
That is true. That is very true.
I am not the man I am portrayed to be by some.
I am a man of many flaws and contradictions.
If I make it to the presidential palace,
I am not the man I am portrayed to be by some.
I will do just what I did as mayor:
If I make it to the presidential palace,
You drug pushers, hold-up men, and do-nothings
I will do just what I did as mayor
I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay and fatten all the fish there.
You drug pushers, hold up men, and do-nothings
Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter?
I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay and fatten all the fish there.
I have done this before. Why would I not do it again?
Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter?
If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter, and I will throw you out.
I have done this before. Why would I not do it again?
Whoever said I hated the media?
If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter, and I will throw you out.
Give me salt and vinegar, and I’ll eat his liver.
Whoever said I hated the media?
Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination
Give me salt and vinegar, and I’ll eat his liver.
Fate has many faces
Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination
If you’re a son of a bitch.
Fate has many faces
And if you hang me for all that I did, go ahead.
If you’re a son of a bitch
Relax. God will somehow enlighten me.
And if you hang me for all that I did, go ahead.
Many are asking what my credentials are and what I can do for the Philippines.
Relax. God will somehow enlighten me.
I do not know.
Many are asking what my credentials are and what I can do for the Philippines.
I really do not know how to solve the problem of the Philippines.
I do not know.
I cannot be the savior of this republic.
I really do not know how to solve the problem of the Philippines.
Forget the laws on human rights.
I cannot be the savior of this republic.
That is true. That is very true.
(Sources: Online media reporting of press conferences, campaign rallies, and interviews with Rodrigo Duterte)
I am a man of many flaws and contradictions.
That is true. That is very true.
I am not the man I am portrayed to be by some.
I am a man of many flaws and contradictions.
If I make it to the presidential palace,
I am not the man I am portrayed to be by some.
I will do just what I did as mayor:
If I make it to the presidential palace,
You drug pushers, hold-up men, and do-nothings
I will do just what I did as mayor
I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay and fatten all the fish there.
You drug pushers, hold up men, and do-nothings
Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter?
I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay and fatten all the fish there.
I have done this before. Why would I not do it again?
Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter?
If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter, and I will throw you out.
I have done this before. Why would I not do it again?
Whoever said I hated the media?
If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter, and I will throw you out.
Give me salt and vinegar, and I’ll eat his liver.
Whoever said I hated the media?
Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination
Give me salt and vinegar, and I’ll eat his liver.
Fate has many faces
Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination
If you’re a son of a bitch.
Fate has many faces
And if you hang me for all that I did, go ahead.
If you’re a son of a bitch
Relax. God will somehow enlighten me.
And if you hang me for all that I did, go ahead.
Many are asking what my credentials are and what I can do for the Philippines.
Relax. God will somehow enlighten me.
I do not know.
Many are asking what my credentials are and what I can do for the Philippines.
I really do not know how to solve the problem of the Philippines.
I do not know.
I cannot be the savior of this republic.
I really do not know how to solve the problem of the Philippines.
Forget the laws on human rights.
I cannot be the savior of this republic.
That is true. That is very true.
(Sources: Online media reporting of press conferences, campaign rallies, and interviews with Rodrigo Duterte)
Melissa Alipalo is a writer, teacher, and international development consultant. She holds an MFA from the University of Southern Maine and an MSc in Social Development from Ateneo de Manila University. Melissa spent nearly 20 years living in the Philippines, where she worked in journalism and development. Now based in Maine with her family, she is completing her first poetry collection, which reflects on their urgent departure from the Philippines in 2017 and the experience of resettling in the U.S.
