The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. — Hungarian-American psychiatrist Thomas Szasz
IT is not surprising that ‘The Punisher’—ex-President Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte (FPRRD) or Digong—remains unapologetic over the brutal drug war he instigated during his term as mayor of Davao City and unto his presidency from 2016 to 2022.
In his first public appearance last October 28 (the current year) before the Senate panel that is investigating his brutal anti-drug campaign Duterte openly admitted that he personally set up a covert death squad which operated under his command.
The former president claimed that the squad—a team of seven (7) wealthy, unrelenting ‘gangsters’—was created by him with just one mission, to hunt down criminals and drug pushers in a ruthless campaign to clear the streets of crime, illegal drugs, rapists and thieves and also to protect the interests of business owners who were close to him.
And with chilling nonchalance, he added to assert that this group existed solely to eliminate threats and not his political adversaries. The revelation struck a nerve when Duterte went further, acknowledging that he had, indeed, killed people and had spared no one in his crusade.
Yet, he defended the Philippine National Police (PNP), urging the public to direct their anger elsewhere. This death squad, he insisted, was purely his own creation and its operation should be distanced from official law enforcement.
The former president maintained absolute authority, claiming he could command a gangster to kill—and if they refused, he would not hesitate to turn his own weapon on them. He then rationalized the exclusion of police from the squad, explaining that their involvement would lead to suspensions, crippling their income for their families’ livelihood.
He spoke almost as though he were shielding these officers, a dark irony considering his hands-on approach to violence.
As the tension grew in the Senate hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros sought clarity and asked about the identities of those involved. Duterte, with cold calculation, revealed that those who had once operated under his orders were now all deceased.
They had taken their secrets to the grave, he claimed. This assertion left the Senate chamber in a state of tense silence; it appeared that the so-called Punisher had created a web of violence so intricate that it had ultimately consumed even its own members.
And the atmosphere grew even more tense as his admissions echoed the methods once used in Davao—methods retired Police Colonel Royina Garma had previously testified before the House Quad Committee hearings which became the blueprint for Duterte’s nationwide anti-drug campaign and the reward system that incentivized policemen to kill and rid the streets of those Duterte had deemed as ‘pests’.
He had fiercely sent across to law enforcement agents his sole mandate: that every police officer should eliminate the accused, clearing the world of what he deemed as a plague to society. He even admitted to directing the police to provoke the accused into resisting, creating a convenient excuse to end their lives.
This admission aligns disturbingly with testimonies before the House Quad Comm, where witnesses like Garma exposed the infamous ‘nanlaban’ defense of the PNP under then General Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa as nothing more than a calculated charade.
These killings weren’t acts of self-defense—they were systematic executions, ruthlessly carried out to meet quotas and driven by the lure of cash incentives. Officers received payouts ranging from ₱20,000 to a staggering ₱1 million per target killed, thus it became a reward system that turned bloodshed into a dark means using transactional currency.
However, the day’s revelations didn’t end there. In a shocking turn, Duterte pointed to incumbent Senator Bato Dela Rosa and former Davao police chiefs he appointed of complicity in the Davao Death Squad.
This admission is reminiscent of the testimonies of Garma, former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban, ex-Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, Police Colonel Jovie Espenido and other witnesses who stated that Bato was Duterte’s primary attack dog, acted as the implementor of the nationwide drug war patterned on the Davao model anti-crime campaign.
This accusation directly contradicted Bato’s recent public statements, in which he flatly denied the existence of any such death squad. Just days before the Senate inquiry, Bato had confidently stated that the death squad was nothing but a rumor and vowed to prosecute anyone proven to be a member.
But now, faced with Duterte’s confession, Bato’s denial appeared to many as a calculated deception. Duterte’s challenge was unmistakable: if Bato truly believed in justice, he would have to bring charges—against himself.
All these have unearthed a grim chapter in Philippine history, one that will not be easily forgotten.
The revelations raise harrowing questions about justice, human rights and the corrosive influence of unchecked power. As the inquiry continues, many Filipinos are left grappling with the truth of Duterte’s legacy—one marked not just by rhetoric but by a clandestine operation that blurred the lines between crime and punishment, turning justice into a weapon of fear.
Now, the world watches as the Philippine Senate considers how to address these revelations and in time assuage the pain and scars brought about by the brutality of Duterte’s war on drugs. However, for those who lived under the former president’s abhorrent rule, the wounds may never truly heal.
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