The 'Trump card'

COMMONSENSE

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

AGOYA — A few days before we arrived here, social media posts on X reported groups of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Japan organizing a "birthday" gathering to show their support to detained former president Rodrigo Duterte. In this central city in Japan, dozens if not hundreds of Filipinos coming from various prefectures in Nagoya have spontaneously mobilized a group gathering in Ikeda, Koen to honor Mr. Duterte's 80th birthday despite his being detained at The Hague, Netherlands.

Most Filipino communities in Japan live in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. But the majority of the Filipino population can be found in Aichi Prefecture in the capital city of Nagoya, home to around 10,000 Pinoys. As of December 2024, it is estimated there are 341,518 Filipinos all over Japan, making them the fourth largest foreign community here.

Similar pro-Duterte birthday group gatherings, from land-based OFWs to Filipino seamen onboard international ships have been reported in other parts of the world. Pinoys living and working abroad poured out their bleeding hearts to see their former beloved "Tatay Digong" flown and sent to detention at The Hague. Mr. Duterte was picked up by agents of the International Police Organization (Interpol) upon his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong last March 11. The Interpol served the "diffusion notice" by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him on charges of "crimes against humanity" based on 43 cases of alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his administration's deadly all-out war against illegal drugs.

If we are to believe photos posted on Facebook and other popular social media platforms, the OFWs as far away as Antarctica and even in the middle of the seas held indignation gatherings. They all raised the Philippine flag to dramatize their protest against the detention of our former president in a foreign land.