Magazine
The Philippines may be a democratic inspiration, but it is also a warning.
Eleven of the 12 winning senators of the midterm elections attend their proclamation by the National Board of Canvassers, led by Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwin Garcia (center, back row), at The Manila Hotel Tent City on May 17, 2025.
On March 11, 2025, Police Major General Nicolas Torre III, chief of the Philippines’ Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, stood before former President Rodrigo Duterte and read out his Miranda Rights.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Torre said, after he informed Duterte that the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant of arrest for crimes against humanity.
“You have the right to counsel of your choice. Anything you say may be used for and against you in a court of law,” he continued.
The scene of Duterte’s arrest was Villamor Air Base, the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force. Insiders said it was the most secure place to hold the former president, given its proximity to Manila International Airport, where police intercepted him upon arriving from a trip to Hong Kong. Yet perhaps by symbolic coincidence, one could not overlook that the air base played a previous significant role in Philippine history.
In February 1986, a popular uprising known as the People Power Revolution forced the downfall of President Ferdinand Marcos’ decades-long dictatorship. It was from Villamor Air Base that the 15th Strike Wing defected from the regime, effectively stripping the dictator of his monopoly on military force. This was a decisive moment in the revolution, as military rebels began siding with the people.
Almost 40 years later, Villamor Air Base again became the backdrop to a pivotal moment. This time, Philippine security forces went against the wishes of another once-powerful strongman – but not Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who had brought his family back to the pinnacle of Philippine power. Instead, the target was Duterte, a former president whose “war on drugs” was a campaign of mass murder from the start.
Like Marcos Sr., Duterte’s final moments on Philippine soil concluded with him boarding a plane and leaving the nation with no indication of when or if the strongman would ever return. Marcos Sr. and his family were exiled to Hawai‘i, while Duterte was flown to The Hague to face detention and trial before the International Criminal Court.
There are various ways to interpret what happened on March 11. Here’s one way to see it: Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest once again positioned the Philippines as a beacon for the world, just as it had been in 1986. It served as a reminder that no strongman can hold power forever.
Yet there is another way to interpret what happened on March 11. The Philippines may be an inspiration, but it is also a warning.
