For all his vaunted keen sense of anticipation, former President Rodrigo Duterte probably never saw incarceration in a Dutch penitentiary in the closing years of his life coming.

FPRRD’s long and lonely journey to The Hague after being fed to the wolves by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now well documented. It has dominated the headlines at home and started attracting the attention of the international media.

All the legalese that PBBM and his co-conspirators have been mouthing to explain the lynch mob of an arrest will never suffice to justify it. In a world where justice and fairness prevail, there is no place for such an obscene display of brute and superior force for an exaggerated and unfounded charge of mass murder, let alone a crime against humanity.

The only thing worse than the shameless kidnapping of a frail old man who gave the best years of his life to public service is the surrender of the country’s sovereignty and sacred independence by those who swore by it and are paid to defend it.

In a desperate bid to show the world to wash his hands, PBBM was even worse than his usual bumbling, stuttering state. It did not help that he was surrounded by perhaps the most pathetic gathering of people who had lost all sense of self-respect. For all his failed attempts to play Pilate, PBBM only succeeded in reminding people of his betrayal of the man who gave a second chance to his family and the nation who gave him that opportunity.

“The smiler with the knife under the cloak,” Chaucer wrote in the Canterbury Tales. Haven’t you noticed that smile? It reminds us of the smile of the ingrate and the traitor.

While no one believes PBBM when he said he had nothing to do with FPRRD’s arrest, there is no denying that he could not do it alone. It had all the hallmarks of a grand conspiracy that goes to the secret dungeons of power where most of the world’s miseries and tragedies are plotted. The former prosecutor against crime and corruption now stands prosecuted before no less than an international court that has long prejudged him. If there is any comfort – if it can be called as such – it is the thought that it had to take the combined forces of the powers of evil to win a battle that is a mere prelude to the real fight.

Even before the trial commenced, FPRRD had already won a stirring victory considering the combined forces against him.

No doubt they took his word seriously that he would rather die than be locked in a foreign prison. It turned out there was no such resistance when the police officers led by Gen. Nicolas Torre III took him into custody. The world saw a man who understood that his duty to his country and people counts more than personal convenience and survival. He did not resist because he had no more fight left in him. It was the leader’s heart that ruled until that moment.

“If you wish to be loved by your soldiers, husband their blood and do not lead them to slaughter,” counseled the 17th-century German monarch Frederick The Great.

FPRRD had practiced that principle. Even before he became president, FPRRD knew that would be his policy in that powder keg, the South China Sea. Considering the undeniable superiority of the regional superpower – and the unreliability of the world superpower that was spoiling for trouble, FPRRD refused to put his soldiers at risk.

“I will not send my soldiers to a slaughter,” he had repeatedly declared, drawing jeers and taunts from those who won’t be and will never volunteer to be in the line of fire.  

Of course, they won’t credit FPRRD for restoring dignity to the Armed Forces and raising them in the eyes of the world when his administration won the war in Marawi, the first major victory over ISIS. His sustained campaign also dealt a decisive blow against the communist New People’s Army, so much that its remaining supporters hate him to the core.

In his running battle against drug and crime syndicates and crooks in government, FPRRD showed relentless and fearsome courage such that millions of drug addicts surrendered even before he could take his oath. Many more fell along the way, earning him enemies who would never forget and forgive and who would exact revenge at the first opportunity. To many, that opportunity is now under an administration that has not only thrown him under the bus but is determined to bury him permanently.

The response to the obscene manner in which the illegal arrest was carried out has been off the charts. The turnout in spontaneous prayer rallies in most parts of Mindanao and many places in the Visayas not considered Duterte strongholds exceeded expectations. While PBBM is hoping they will die a natural death after the people have let off steam, there is a different pulse on the ground.

Filipinos are making their voices heard not only on social media – and no doubt the noise is deafening – but physically, categorically, and oftentimes angrily. The sentiment is clear: FPRRD fought for them before. This time, it’s their turn to fight for him.

Knowing the brutal capacity of the Marcos administration, the protest actions are not simply trendy. It takes courage – a heavy dose – to stand up to the bully who wants to remain permanently in power.

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die,” said G.K. Chesterton. He could well be describing the prevailing sentiment of Filipinos not only in the Philippines but also in foreign lands.

Yes, FPRRD is fighting the biggest fight of his life. As usual, the odds are against him. But this time, he can be sure of one thing: he is not alone. In fact, Filipinos who understand sovereignty and who know dignity are willing to fight for him.

Whether he returns to the country or not, FPRRD has already emerged victorious. The outpouring of anger and sympathy made sure of that. No doubt, this is FPRRD’s most significant battle, but for obvious reasons, the people he fought for – will have to do much of the fighting for him.

Sun Tzu, that great military genius of another time, once remarked: “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” That pretty much sums up this war that FPRRD is fighting – and has already won.

For all his vaunted keen sense of anticipation, fPRRD probably never saw incarceration in a Dutch penitentiary in the closing years of his life coming. On second thought, he probably saw it coming and already knew how it would play out.