Duterte's extrajudicial admissions exist only in detractors' minds | The Manila Times

Last of two parts

THE nation has been fixated on the enthralling and seemingly incriminating (but not really) confessions on the matter of extrajudicial killings made in the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing by the controversial, unapologetic, unbowed yet playful former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose narratives, laced with expletives, ranged from incredible (to the naive and uninitiated) to repulsive (to his gullible if not unthinking detractors ) and funny (to those with a sense of humor), but brilliant (to those whose intellect run parallel with his). The much longer House quad committee hearings, particularly on Nov. 13, 2024, competed in attention in terms of drama and bravado in the mesmerizing performance of an aging yet strong man — who effectively parried the blows and insults of a pack wolves neatly dressed in their State of the Nation Address attires, with wit and unyielding mind — not without a sprinkling of angry words and reprimands unleashed generously against those he perceived to have crossed the line and were unstoppable in exposing their ignorance and their fatuousness.