A Strongman at The Hague

In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines on a promise to eliminate drug users. He framed the war on drugs as a crusade, labeling users as law transgressors and claiming a corrupt justice system failed to punish them. Duterte criticized elites, vowed swift justice, and targeted crystal meth, calling it a brain‑shrinkage poison that made users life.