For the last decade, the Duterte family has been known throughout the Philippines as almost untouchable – respected, feared, and seen by many as above the law. Take Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs when he was president of the Philippines. Despite a bloody crackdown, Duterte remained largely unchallenged both domestically and internationally during his presidency. His son, Paolo, has enjoyed similar immunity: several years ago, he was implicated in a multi-billion peso drug-smuggling operation, but got off easy – with rumours that the judicial system was rigged to protect the family.
The Duterte family has remained a powerful political dynasty in the Philippines, even after President Rodrigo Duterte left office two years ago. Their deep populist appeal and strongman style of leadership has allowed the family to cling on to power for approaching 40 years. The family’s influence has continued to grow, with all three of Rodrigo’s children currently involved in Philippine politics.
The drugs scandal engulfing the Dutertes is highly ironic
But now the shine is coming off. The Dutertes are facing allegations of having ties to allies accused of human trafficking, drug crimes, and corruption. Worse still, their long-standing rival political dynasty, the Marcos family, smell blood. The Dutertes are now at risk of falling into political oblivion.
In early July, former Philippines senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a criminal complaint of graft against Rodrigo and his former aide, the senator Christopher ‘Bong’ Go. The allegations arose from a 2018 investigation conducted by the Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). The PCIJ claimed that firms linked to the relatives of Go had been awarded government contracts worth billions of pesos in Davao City during 2017 and 2018, the period when Duterte was in power.
Then, in late August, another bombshell dropped when a former customs intelligence officer and convicted drug trafficker Jimmy Guban came out to accuse relatives and associates of Rodrigo of being involved in a significant drug-smuggling operation. In 2017, Duterte’s son Paolo appeared before the Senate facing accusations that he was involved in smuggling about $125 million (£96 million) of methamphetamine into the Philippines over the preceding decade.
Paolo denied all wrongdoing. His father chillingly told the public at the time that if Paolo was found guilty, he would him killed. Paolo denied the charges and was never formally prosecuted. But two months ago, Guban testified before lawmakers that Paolo and the lawyer Manases Carpio – the husband of Sara Duterte-Carpio, Rodrigo’s daughter and current vice president of the country – used large magnetic lifters (devices used to lift steel plates, blocks, and other shipping equipment) to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of meth into the Philippines in 2018 – a full year after Paolo’s appearance in front of the Senate.
Adding fuel to the fire, along with two of her brothers, Durterte-Carpio herself is also under scrutiny – facing drug and corruption charges as investigations intensify into the family’s business dealings. On top of this, the family is staring down a potential indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, tied to Rodrigo’s brutal war on drugs during his time in office. Thousands of extrajudicial killings occurred on his watch, and now the international community is calling for accountability.
The feud between the Marcos and Duterte families began to surface after the 2022 presidential election, when the two families were grappling for power. The feud then escalated in January this year when Rodrigo called the new President Marcos Jr a drug addict. Marcos fired back, claiming that Rodrigo himself must have been in a drug-addled state to make such an allegation. Many Filippinos were stunned.
The drugs scandal engulfing the Dutertes is highly ironic. Rodrigo rode a wave of overwhelming support to claim victory in 2016, but during his six years in power he became infamous. Under his command, death squads would ride through impoverished slums and execute suspected drug dealers and users in front of their children and wives. Bodies of young men and women were routinely found slain, riddled with bullets, in the streets.
Duterte’s apparent vitriol for crime didn’t stop at drugs. He often publicly spoke out against corruption, once claiming he had killed a corrupt official himself. ‘If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter to Manila and I will throw you out,’ he said not long after he was elected in 2016.
These allegations over the summer have called Dutere’s entire ‘war on drugs’ into question. But it’s his family’s ties to a powerful religious ally that could end them entirely. Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church, and one of the Philippines’ most prominent televangelists, was arrested last month, after being wanted in the US on charges of child sex trafficking. Quiboloy has close ties to Duterte: his financial backing and massive following played a crucial role in the former president’s political rise.
Quiboloy calls himself the ‘appointed Son of God’ – but that title is of little help to him now. The allegations against him involve grooming young children, some as young as 12. The US indictment has shattered Quiboloy’s status back home in the Philippines – and threaten to destroy that of the Dutertes too.
Back on 30 June 2022, Marcos Jr and Duterte-Carpio raised their hands together in front of a cheering crowd in Manila. They were celebrating the moment they had just been sworn in as President and Vice-President respectively after the Philippines general election. To many, that moment captured the essence of two dynasties coming together, a powerful political force that was the start of a new Philippines. But within a year, that alliance had turned sour – and the two allies transformed into bitter rivals.
Next May, Filipinos head to the polls for their midterm elections. With the vote looming, both the Duterte and Marcos families are scrambling to build new powerful political alliances. The results will determine the control of Congress, including the Senate and the House of Representatives. The two families will play crucial roles in passing legislation, approving budgets, and potentially investigating high-profile figures. Needless to say, the last point is now of particular interest to the Duterte family.
The coming months hold many uncertainties for the Duterte family. But if the authorities find credible evidence that proves the family’s ties to a hidden world of crime, it could all be over for one of the country’s most successful political dynasties. The Marcos family may have a long history of authoritarian leadership and sustained years of international condemnation for its dark past, but it is the Dutertes who look like they’re now on the verge of destruction.
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