Unmasking Duterte: A Reading List

It’s been three years since Rodrigo Duterte sat in the highest seat of power in the country. Despite being detained by the International Criminal Court, he was re-elected as mayor of Davao City, following more than two decades in that office before his presidency. He has recently been charged with three counts of widespread murder by the ICC. And yet, there are still those who openly support him and his equally corrupt family members, including but not limited to the current vice president, Sara Duterte. For many years, Duterte and his allies built an image that portrayed him as a man of and for the people. However, every facade will have cracks, and from these cracks will spill the truth. It is crucial to counter the narratives that paint him and his kin in a forgiving and compassionate light. Thus, we’ve selected six books that expose the rot of his true persona, his regime, and his legacy of impunity. 

Unrequited Love: Duterte’s China Embrace 

by Marites Vitug and Camille Elemia

Unrequited Love: Duterte’s China Embrace by Marites Vitug and Camille Elemia utilizes archival research and field interviews to present a groundbreaking and comprehensive exposé of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s foreign policy shift towards China and his extraordinary efforts to court and maintain this relationship during and even after his presidency, despite China’s shameless threats to our sovereignty. An eye-opening and thought-provoking read, it details the personal agendas and political alliances at the heart of the whole affair. Most importantly, the book highlights the web of betrayals committed by the former president at the expense of the country he was elected to serve.

Get your copy in paperback: website, Lazada, and Shopee

A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte’s Early Presidency

Edited by Nicole Curato

A Duterte Reader: Critical Essays on Rodrigo Duterte’s Early Presidency, edited by Nicole Curato, compiles the incisive interrogations of academics, activists, and journalists of the Duterte regime. It tackles his rise to power on a national level, and sets out to make sense of his governance, as well as the deceitful strategies deployed to solidify his popularity. While the book only discusses the beginnings of his presidency, the multidisciplinary lenses employed make it relevant because we must continue to understand Dutertismo and the extreme violence brought to the most vulnerable of the Filipino people.  

This book is currently only available as an ebook. You can purchase it through our website. 

Drugs and Philippine Society

Edited by Gideon Lasco

“Drug wars are not about drugs per se, but about people.” 

Drugs and Philippine Society, edited by Gideon Lasco, dedicates an entire section to the lived effects of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war on those who experienced the brunt of its consequences. The section covers a diverse array of perspectives, from the youth to community leaders, to those arrested and jailed for suspected drug use, to the media, and to religious leaders. The accounts of these people showcase the complex sociopolitical context in which the drug war occurred and was sustained for many years. 

Get your copy in paperback: website, Lazada, and Shopee

Presidents and Pests, Cosmopolitans and Communists 

by Patricio N. Abinales

Presidents and Pests, Cosmopolitans and Communists, by Patricio N. Abinales, includes a chapter titled “Pisting Yawa: Rodrigo Duterte and the Language of the Crowd,” which delves into how Duterte’s political performance appealed to a large number of people. Many studies on Duterte focus on his brutality, and rightly so; however, it is also important to analyze the mentality of his supporters. Abinales offers a nuanced examination on the ways Duterte used coarse language to manipulate and endear others to him and his cause. 

Get your copy in paperback: website, Lazada, and Shopee

Armor 

by John Bengan

While being the only collection of fiction on this list, John Bengan’s Armor depicts the gritty and dire realities of Davao City in the 1990s to a not-so-distant time. Many of the stories center on the violence brought about by the Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group under the thumb of former Davao mayor and former president Rodrigo Duterte. The characters, typically presented to us as statistics or reports, are turned flesh and bone through the poignant and atmospheric writing. Each story deconstructs the notion of being a “criminal” in an authoritarian setting. When an ordinary individual is ascribed such a label, there is always something more than what meets the eye. Bengan’s subversive work begs the question: how does one live and defy one's constraints when faced with constant terror?

Get your copy in paperback: website, Lazada, and Shopee

Lugar Lang 

by Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz

Lugar Lang by Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz articulates the political through the author’s personal experiences as a lesbian Mindanawon writer in the Duterte stronghold of Davao City during the early years of the Duterte administration. Some essays are direct and succinct in their dissent towards the acts and policies of Duterte. Other essays are experiments on the form, which she deems “dressing up” the opinion column. One opinion piece is dressed up as a speculative story set in an alternative universe where the former president apologizes for his misogynistic ways. Cruz decided to stop writing her column due to the dangers of online political persecution. Nevertheless, her voice echoes from the pages and calls for us to stand up for our country: “We are here to think critically and voice dissent when necessary to ensure a just and humane society. We are here to rock the house, not live in it.”

Get your copy in paperback: website, Lazada, and Shopee