When news broke of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Crimes Court (ICC) on charges of crime against humanity linked to his drug war, I did what many of my friends did: I opened Facebook. I scrolled through posts and comment sections expecting and already knowing that I would find rage, denial, and of course, last-ditch efforts of his loyalists to twist the narrative. 

But what I didn’t expect—though maybe I should have—was the chorus of “Ma rape tana ka” flung at journalists, critics, and anyone who dared to express relief at the accountability that had been long overdue.

These threats are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern of misogyny and violence that has been normalized over the past decade. Duterte’s tenure was marked by a dismissive attitude toward sexual violence. In 2016, he joked about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary during a prison riot, expressing regret that he hadn’t been first in line. Later, in 2017, he told soldiers they could rape up to three women without consequence during martial law in Mindanao. These statements were met with laughter and applause, setting a dangerous precedent. ​

It’s almost poetic, in the worst way possible. Duterte spent years joking about rape, excusing it, promising soldiers they could commit it without consequence. His supporters, men and women alike, laughed along, treating misogyny as just another punchline. And now, his most loyal defenders wield his legacy like a blade, using rape threats as a political weapon.

His regime built a machismo culture where violence, especially against women, is not just tolerated but celebrated. Where rape is no longer a crime, but a punishment for those who dare to dissent. And now that he is in legal jeopardy, that same culture he fostered has become his supporters’ final, rabid defense.

Some may defend his controversial remarks as merely jokes, not to be taken seriously. But words have power, especially when they come from the highest office in the land. When a leader normalizes misogyny and violence through “jokes”, it sends a message that such behavior is acceptable. This normalization has real-world consequences, as evidenced by the surge of online harassment and rape threats against critics.

He may now be facing trial, but his rhetoric lives on, in the way his supporters speak, the way they argue, the way they dehumanize. The administration may have ended, but its influence has outlived it, mutating into an ideology where violence is not just acceptable but righteous.

And that is why I am afraid. Because this doesn’t stop with one leader. It doesn’t end with his arrest. The cruelty that was normalized will persist in the mouths of those who defend it, in the people who have been taught that threats, humiliation, and violence are the only acceptable responses to dissent.

Now, we have a generation desensitized to brutality, conditioned to believe that threats and death are the natural order of things. If rape is something we can joke about, weaponize, and casually wish upon others, then it will remain something we cannot eradicate. The moment we let it become part of everyday language, we let it fester in our society. Untouched. Unchallenged.

We cannot let this be the norm. We cannot pretend these threats are meaningless. Every rape threat thrown online is a reflection of a larger sickness, a testament to how deeply ingrained violence has become in our national psyche.

When we see these comments, we should not brush them off as mere trolling. They are not just words. They are echoes of a regime that built itself on blood and fear.

Brutality may have been the rule for years, but we do not have to inherit it. We can choose something else. And that begins by rejecting, loudly and unapologetically, the culture of violence that has been left behind.