In just days—starting February 23, 2026—the International Criminal Court in The Hague will kick off the confirmation of charges hearing against former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity tied to his blood-soaked "war on drugs." Despite the ICC judges ruling him fit to participate (after a panel of medical experts debunked his frailty excuses), the old man has begged to skip the whole thing, whining about age, "kidnapping," and refusing to recognize the court's jurisdiction. The prosecution called his bluff, and even as the Pre-Trial Chamber granted his waiver request, the hearing proceeds without him—because apparently, the architect of thousands of extrajudicial killings is too "old, tired, and frail" to face the music he once bragged about conducting personally.

This isn't justice delayed; it's justice catching up to a man who treated Filipino lives like disposable collateral in his macho fantasy of street-level extermination. If the charges are confirmed and the case barrels toward trial—with accomplices like Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa potentially dragged in as co-perpetrators—the Duterte brand doesn't just take a hit; it implodes.

Enter Vice President Sara Duterte, who on February 18, 2026, dramatically declared, "I am Sara Duterte, and I am running for president" in 2028. The timing? Pure deflection theater. Fresh off multiple impeachment complaints over her alleged misuse of confidential funds, opaque spending, and other scandals, she launches an early bid to project strength while her father's ICC nightmare unfolds. Malacañang dismissed it as "irrelevant"—and they're right. In a nation still reeling from economic strain, flooding, and corruption fatigue, her announcement smells less like vision and more like panic. Sara's riding high in some polls now, but tether her legacy to a convicted mass-murderer father, and that support evaporates faster than her office's unaccounted billions.

A Rodrigo conviction at the ICC wouldn't stay in The Hague. It would unleash a torrent of domestic accountability. The plunder and graft charges filed by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV—first in October 2025 against Rodrigo, Sara, and Senator Bong Go, then escalated in January 2026 with fresh complaints against Sara over P650 million in confidential funds from her OVP and DepEd days, plus P8 billion in allegedly overpriced laptops—suddenly gain unstoppable momentum. These aren't vague smears; they're backed by sworn affidavits from insiders, including Sara's former aide turned whistleblower. With both Dutertes stripped of power—Rodrigo potentially locked away abroad, Sara facing disqualification, impeachment, or outright conviction—the dynasty crumbles into irrelevance.

This would be historic: the first Philippine political family built on fear, killings, and crony cash finally stripped bare. Rodrigo, the self-anointed tough guy who once boasted of dumping bodies in Manila Bay, reduced to a no-show defendant hiding behind waivers. Sara, the supposed "Iron Lady" of Davao, exposed as just another dynast looting public coffers while delivering zilch on education or governance. Their rule wasn't populism; it was plunder wrapped in profanity and violence, leaving a trail of widows, orphans, and missing billions.
The vacuum this creates is a genuine game-changer. Trillanes—the Navy rebel who endured Duterte's smears, jail, and threats—has repeatedly filed these explosive cases, refusing to let the Dutertes skate on corruption. He says he's not running in 2028, preferring to back "worthy" candidates, but if the ICC verdict and Ombudsman probes deliver the knockout blow, the math changes. Trillanes could step up as the anti-dynasty, anti-corruption standard-bearer the country desperately needs, turning vindication into a national reset.
Philippine politics has gorged on enough Duterte poison: extrajudicial slaughter disguised as policy, family enrichment masked as service, and threats as governance. An ICC confirmation isn't vengeance—it's the bare minimum of justice for the thousands erased in the name of "order." When Rodrigo's empire collapses and Sara's ambitions follow, it won't just be poetic; it'll be necessary. The Dutertes aren't victims of politics; they're perpetrators who finally ran out of excuses. Their downfall isn't tragic—it's triumphant for every Filipino who refused to stay silent. And when it hits, the nation will breathe easier.


(TAMBULI NG BAYAN-Ronnie Estrada) #VPSaraDuterte #FPRRD #ImeeMarcos #ICC #thehague #PCO #PBBM #BasteDuterte #DavaoCity #OmbudsmanPH #BoyingRemulla #AntonioTrillanes #SonnyTrillanes #Trillanes2028 #BatoDelaRosa #bongo #BongbongMarcos