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Marcos Jr won’t follow Duterte’s bloody approach to drug war
In his first sit-down interview since he won the presidency in May, Marcos said that he wants to run an anti-drug campaign that is holistic, focusing more on prevention and rehabilitation.
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Incoming Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr (left) and outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte (center) take part in the inauguration ceremony for Marcos at the Malacanang presidential palace grounds in Manila on June 30, 2022. The son of the Philippines' late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was to be sworn in as president on June 30, completing a decades-long effort to restore the clan to the country's highest office. (AFP/Francis R. Malasig)
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hilippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr plans to pivot away from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody approach to the country’s drug problem, but still intends to protect his ally from any investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible crimes against humanity.
In his first sit-down interview since he won the presidency in May, Marcos said that he wants to run an anti-drug campaign that is holistic, focusing more on prevention and rehabilitation.
He said kids would be taught about the bad effects of drugs, while the government would give proper treatment to drug addicts.
“The war on drugs will continue, but we will have to do it a different way,” Marcos said. “In fact, right now, we are trying to formulate what is the best way for the rehabilitation programme. These are all being formulated”.
This is a stark contrast to the enforcement-heavy policy started by the Duterte administration in 2016. Duterte also pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2019 after it launched a preliminary probe into the thousands of drug-related deaths during his term.
The ICC then authorised a full investigation on the drug war in September 2021, but suspended it two months later, after Manila said it was already looking into the crimes.
Marcos made the comments in a pre-recorded interview that aired on Tuesday, which was also his 65th birthday.
During the interview, Marcos argued that the ICC should step in only when the country’s judiciary is no longer functioning.
“The ICC, very simply, is supposed to take action when a country no longer has a functioning judiciary… That condition does not exist in the Philippines. So I do not see what role the ICC will play in the Philippines,” he said.
Marcos considers the Duterte clan his ally. His running mate in the May elections was Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte, who is now the Vice-President.
