Rodrigo Duterte’s Legacy: Still Speaking for the People After the Presidency

Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, photographed during his term, remains a powerful and divisive voice in Philippine politics. Photo: Official Malacañang Release

He’s no longer in Malacañang. No convoy. No presidential seal. No scripted briefings or photo ops. But make no mistake, Rodrigo Roa Duterte's legacy is still speaking for millions.

From his home base in Davao City, the former president hasn’t gone quietly into retirement. That's the thing about the Duterte legacy: it's not bound by titles. Because that was never his style. And maybe, just maybe, it’s exactly what this country still needs: someone who doesn’t tiptoe around problems, someone who doesn’t pretend diplomacy fixes what bullets and addiction have already broken.

What They Called Brutality, the People Called Courage

Let’s stop pretending the drug war was some abstract political issue. It wasn’t. It was lived, raw, violent, and necessary. For years, barangays were ruled by pushers, users, and syndicates who laughed at the law. Rodrigo Duterte's legacy isn't about numbers alone; it's about restoring order in places where chaos reigned for decades. He changed that. He didn’t beg for international approval; he acted.

Critics called him a killer. Supporters called him the first leader who gave a damn.

And if you ask the mothers who sleep soundly at night because the street outside isn’t a warzone anymore, they’ll tell you: he may have been hard, but he was just.

The ICC can open all the investigations it wants. But they weren’t here when the drugs came. They didn’t bury our dead. They didn’t walk through the shabu-infested slums of Manila or Davao. Duterte did. And he didn’t flinch.

The Rodrigo Duterte Legacy: Action Over Apologies

Duterte’s language? Rough. Vulgar. Honest. He talked the way people talk when they’re tired of being polite about poverty, crime, and corruption. That’s why they listened.

He spoke to the pulse of the masses, not the press, not the privileged.

While others danced around issues, he faced them head-on: federalism, crime, terrorism, even foreign policy. He took on the West Philippine Sea dispute without pretending we had military muscle to match China, but he knew how to play the game. He chose diplomacy when it mattered, fire when it counted. That’s strategy, not surrender.

Post-Presidency Influence: Why Duterte Still Commands Attention

Even now, people ask: “Where is Duterte?” Because his voice, gravelly, sharp, uncompromising, is still missed in a landscape full of hollow speeches and half-truths. He’s not making deals in smoke-filled rooms. He’s not hedging bets. He’s still calling out the rot, even when it’s politically risky.

In Davao, they still call him Tatay. Not out of fear, but respect. Because he earned that title, he didn’t just lead. He protected. He fought. He showed up.

The noise from his critics has always been loud. But so has the loyalty of those who saw real change under his watch. The question isn't why he’s still speaking.

The question is: who else has the guts to?

Final Word:

History will debate Duterte. The ICC will probe him. Intellectuals will write their books. But on the ground, in the barangays, in the homes, in the hearts of those he vowed to protect, his legacy isn’t a question mark.

It’s a fist raised in defiance. A voice that doesn’t need permission to speak.

And maybe that’s exactly why he still does.