Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA (Reuters). Despite Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to retire quietly to the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is likely to succeed him. However, efforts to bring Duterte to trial for his thousands of drug-related killings seem unlikely to be successful.

Sara Duterte’s child, Sara Duterte’s-Carpio was able to help Marcos get elected. She agreed to serve as his vice president running mate. It allowed her father to use the enormous support of her father to secure a comeback for Marcos dynasty.

Although there is no formal agreement, experts in politics say Marcos will not risk destroying crucial bridges by allowing Duterte to be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This investigation is related to Duterte’s execution-style killings during his drug war.

Duterte will, at 77 years old, be stripped of his legal protections that protect him against legal action. He becomes a private citizen next week, which makes him an easy target. He has stated that he would search out drug peddlers once he is retired and will “shoot and kill” them.

Duterte has been in power for six years and at least 6,200 of these people were killed during the drug war. Critics and rights groups claim that law enforcement officers executed suspected drug dealers in a solitary execution, while police insist the victims were violently resisting arrest.

After approving an investigation into the deaths in September, the ICC temporarily suspended it in November upon Manila’s request. When Manila asked the ICC for information on its status, they did not respond immediately.

He will remain safe and untouchable. He could also be a former president, which is worse,” Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch, Senior Philippines Researcher, said.

Marcos already indicated what he would do with the ICC agents during campaign. He stated in January that he would let the ICC investigators into his country but not as tourists.

Marcos stated, “We have a functioning judiciary, that’s why I don’t see the need to send a foreigner here and do the work for us,” echoing Duterte who repeatedly denied collaborating with the ICC.

POLITICS IS IN HIS DNA

Duterte must also deal with the ICC and the relatives of victims, as well the human rights groups demanding that Duterte be held accountable for any killings or other violations over the past six-years.

Randy delos Santos was the uncle of Kian delos Santos (high-school student), who died in 2017. This led to few convictions for police officers involved in drug war. He hoped that the ICC would start its investigation.

Delos Santos said, “There’s so many families that were drug war victims. Not just me.” He also cited other cases which defy the government’s claims of victims having fought back.

Cristina Palabay, human rights organization Karapatan stated that “we are also preparing cases against Duterte once he leaves office.”

Duterte only gave hints about his future plans. This week, he said he’d return to Davao City where he was mayor for nearly two decades and became president in 2016.

“I’ll stay in Davao. As a civilian I can still assist you. After casting his vote, Duterte stated that he would do the same as what I said when I was first elected mayor.

Earl Parreno, author of a biography of Duterte entitled “Beyond Will & Power”, said he finds it difficult to imagine the president totally dropping out of politics. Will he truly retire peacefully? He replied.

Parreno stated that Duterte could run for local office during the 2025 mid-term elections. Ex-presidents from the Philippines often seek out lower offices.

“If politics are ingrained in your DNA it will be very difficult to resist it,” he stated.

Duterte was true to his word when he spoke out about the plans he had for after the presidency.

He stated, “I will ride on my motorcycle to roam about…and I’ll hunt down drug peddlers, kill them and shoot them.”