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A burst of justice in the Philippines

A country still scoring low in rule of law marks another success by handing over a former president to an international court for alleged crimes against humanity.

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Relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings and activists hold signs and light candles during a protest against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte following his arrest on March 11.
  • By the Monitor's Editorial Board

For the past seven years, the vast majority of countries have seen a decline in rule of law, according to surveys by the World Justice Project. Not so the Philippines. Last year, it was one of a few countries whose global ranking rose, even if slightly from a low score.

Besides making reforms to its justice system, the Southeast Asian nation has now passed a major test. On Tuesday, it honored an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and flew a former president, Rodrigo Duterte, to the Netherlands. He will soon face trial at The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity for years of extrajudicial killings by police and vigilantes that he openly supported.

Reactions among Filipinos so far hint at widespread gratitude for this stunning example of equality before the law and embrace of universal norms of justice. Mr. Duterte’s 2016-2022 term as president, and an earlier stint as mayor of the country’s second-largest city, was a dark chapter for the Philippines, a country of 115 million people.

The arrest “should not only signal the end of impunity but ignite a larger movement for justice, transparency and the restoration of human rights,” former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told Radio Free Asia.

Leaders of countries edging toward violent autocracy – or already in it – have probably taken notice of the International Criminal Court’s success. Set up in 1998 to realize a post-1945 international legal order and prevent “atrocity crimes,” the tribunal has limited powers and, so far, limited success in arrests and prosecutions. Yet the turnaround by the Philippines suggests that public thinking on rule of law can change quickly.

“While the world faces an increasingly uncertain future, it is somewhat reassuring that a few fundamental norms of international law will continue to hold until a more stable global order is achieved,” Eyal Benvenisti, a University of Cambridge law professor, wrote in February for the digital law journal Just Security.

For family members of victims killed during Mr. Duterte’s reign of terror, the arrest is only a first step. As Rep. Jude Acidre of the House of Representatives said, “We owe it to them to make sure that we start healing, but that healing will come only through one thing – through justice.”

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