Moral dilemma in the Duterte drama

Some of the complications and consequences of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and eventual trial for crimes against humanity, in the EJK killings during his term in Davao and as president of the Philippines, are in the moral and ethical values of some Filipinos. Regardless of religion or even if they have no religion, all people have ideas of right and wrong, good or bad, and the values that they should be teaching/telling their children to follow.

The crimes attributed to Duterte and the people who executed them are so well known and documented, and even admitted by Duterte, that it is hard to deny, belittle, ignore, or forget, that one has to be totally unfeeling or blind to be unaware of them. This could be the case for some of the Duterte extremists, but some of them are struggling with their conscience in this issue.

The 51% in the recent SWS survey that opined for Duterte to answer for his crimes may have resolved in their consciences that truth, justice, and fairness must prevail. The 14% who are undecided, a portion of the 10% with no opinion, are probably those reconciling their moral/ethical values in relation to the Duterte issues.

People, especially some Filipinos are good/adept at compartmentalizing their moral values, on what is right or wrong and what is good or bad, depending on the situation and who are involved. We choose what moral values apply to a particular case and to that particular person. We tend to be selective in applying our values, and would rather be inconsistent if it favors our bias/tendencies. We hate to generalize the rule, as we want always exceptions to the rule. It is a comfort and a good sign that majority, 51% or more of the Filipinos have resolved this moral dilemma in this Duterte drama.

The dominance of the anti-Duterte among the Catholics and other Christian religion followers is significant in this moral issue. These are/were fueled by the near blasphemous pronouncements of Duterte himself in many occasions. The autocratic governance and strong-arm tactics of Duterte, have also long convinced the leftists and liberals against Duterte without complications. As The Hague trial will unravel in the months to come and more factual information becomes available, those in a moral dilemma will have to come to a decision which will move public opinion. These will be reflected in the opinion polls and in the pro- and anti-Duterte rallies.

The pro-Duterte groups have been accusing the main media as biased against Duterte in most of their social media posts. This has no factual basis but only their perception. The radio, TV and newspaper reports by reporters, editors, and most columnists cover both sides, validate the news, and ask for reactions. While they are subject to the same biases and moral dilemma as some others, they have to be more informed and analytical. If it seems that they are more anti-Duterte, it is just that they are following the ethics of legitimate news reporting which are not yet followed by social media.

Politics is an area/arena in human history and humanity with very loose moral foundations. The object of the competing ideologies, democracy, autocracy, aristocracy, meritocracy, and others to develop and prosper societies, needs solid anchor foundations. In the history of mankind, it seems it can only be found in the moral values of truth, justice, and freedom.