Senator Bong Go says Duterte’s 81st birthday is “loneliest”
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 March) — Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said he is “depressed” over the continued detention of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC), adding that this was Duterte’s “loneliest birthday, “spent away from his family and the Filipino people.
At the Rizal Park stage on San Pedro Street, Go addressed supporters of the Duterte family who joined the “Solidarity Walk for PRRD’s 81st birthday” from Roxas Avenue, passing through CM Recto St. before turning right to San Pedro.
Go, who was Duterte’s Executive Assistant from 1998 to 2016 and Special Assistant to the President from June 30, 2016 until he resigned in late 2018 to run for the Senate, said Duterte’s arrest on March 11, 2025 hurt him deeply, as Duterte is “more than a father” to him.
“Kung meron mang nasaktan dito, ako po iyon. Talagang na depress ako sa nangyari (If anyone was hurt here, it was me. I was truly depressed by what happened),” he claimed.
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go addresses Duterte supporters at San Pedro Square in Davao City during the “Solidarity Walk for PRRD’s 81st Birthday” on Saturday, 28 March 2026. MindaNews photo by ANTONIO L. COLINA IV
Even after Go was elected senator in 2019, he remained closely associated with the Duterte patriarch.
“Mag-isa lang po sya, wala syang kausap, wala syang kasama. Pakiiusap ko lang po sa inyo na ipagdasal natin si Tatay Digong. Huwag tayong tumigil sa pagdasal sa kanyang kaligtasan, kalusugan, at kalayaan (He is alone, with no one to talk to and no one by his side. My only request is that we pray for Tatay Digong. Let us not stop praying for his safety, health, and freedom),” he said.
The former President was arrested on March 11, 2025, upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong, and was flown that evening to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte is facing murder and attempted murder charges as crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019, in the context of his bloody war on drugs.
In a statement issued to MindaNews on March 11, 2026, Leo XL Fuentes, co-covenor of Stand Opposition to Plunder or STOP Corruption Alliance, called Duterte’s prosecution before the ICC a “glimmer of hope,” especially for the families of his administration’s brutal war on drugs.
“It is proof that there will always be a day of reckoning for fascists. Though the road towards justice and accountability is still long, there is a need to persevere in the struggle to stand for human rights and justice,” he said.
Rauf Sissay, a secretariat member of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)-Southern Mindanao Region, said Duterte’s prosecution is a “historic moment for justice and accountability” and serves as a “strong reminder to everyone that violence and fascism will meet their demise, and justice will be served despite the overwhelming odds.”
He said thousands of ordinary and innocent Filipino lives were killed and treated as “collateral damage” by the bloody war on drugs during Duterte’s presidency.
“Unlike Duterte, drug war victims never got due process in the Philippines as we and many others perceive that the Philippine courts and justice system are essentially flawed and biased towards the elites and against the toiling masses,” he said.
Supporters clad in green shirts converged during the “solidariy walk” Saturday to honor Duterte and to demand his release from the ICC. Like in previous gatherings organized by Duterte supporters, chants like “Duterte! Bring Him Home” and “Laban nya! Laban natin!” echoed throughout the parade.
One message on a tarpaulin read: “Bring him home alive.”
Jam Macacua, a Duterte supporter, said she has been joining gatherings like this since Duterte’s arrest to express her anger toward President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, which she believes was responsible for Duterte’s arrest.
She said Duterte’s arrest and his subsequent detention at the ICC was unconstitutional.
Santino Encabo, a member of Sara All Youth Philippines, likewise said that the charges against Duterte before the ICC are unlawful and “politically motivated.”
“I think that it is politically motivated. We believe that his detention is unlawful because the charges have not been confirmed yet in the ICC,” he said.
He said they will support Vice President Sara Duterte’s presidential bid in 2028 because they want to continue the changes her father made during his presidency from 2016 to 2022.
“We believe that she is the only one who can fix our country, just like what her father did from 2016 to 2022, and we saw those changes, and we want to see them happen again in 2028,” he said.
On February 27, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber 1 concluded the four-day confirmation of charges hearing to determine “whether or not there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the suspect committed each of the crimes charged.”
The chamber is currently deliberating whether to confirm the charges against Duterte and is expected to issue a decision within 60 days from the last day of the confirmation of charges hearing on February 27.
Once the Pre-Trial Chamber renders its decision, it may either confirm the charges for which it has determined there is sufficient evidence and commit Duterte to trial before a Trial Chamber, or decline to confirm the charges where evidence is lacking and terminate the proceedings against him.
The Pre-Trial chamber may also “adjourn the hearing and request the Prosecutor to provide further evidence, to conduct further investigations, or to amend any charge for which the evidence submitted appears to establish a crime other than the one charged was committed.” (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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