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Alan Robles

A plate of sweet pork exposed a deepening rift among Filipino loyalists rallying behind former president Rodrigo Duterte outside his detention centre in the Netherlands after a birthday bash ended in a bitter shouting match.
A viral video from the August 15 celebration in The Hague showed former Duterte spokesman Harry Roque berating other guests after learning that someone had mocked him online for attending and eating humba – a caramelised version of adobo. The visibly furious Roque offered to buy all the humba, claiming he had been insulted and “blasphemed”.
Roque and his rival in the clip, activist Alvin Sarzate, later dismissed the idea that humba had sparked the quarrel, attributing it to political differences instead – though neither elaborated.
The scene gave a taste of the simmering factionalism that has taken root in The Hague, where loyalists of the former Philippine president – now detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) – have become a regular and rowdy presence.
Duterte, 80, has been in the ICC’s Scheveningen detention centre since March, awaiting trial for alleged crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs.

His supporters have rallied outside the facility nearly every day, transforming the sedate Dutch seaside district into an unlikely outpost of Philippine political theatre.
The loyalists have stamped their mark on the city, holding raucous rallies with singing, dancing and loud music that residents have complained about, and walking around with life-size full-colour cardboard cut-outs of their idol. They have also tried renaming places after their idol, calling one area “Duterte Park” and the current area they have been assigned “Duterte Street”.
“There wasn’t really a vibrant Filipino community here until [Duterte] came,” Roque told This Week in Asia. “[The factionalism] might be the usual consequence of a community that became too large, too close, too soon.”
Most of the loyalists are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and are mainly divided into two factions: the unquestioningly loyal DDS (Duterte Diehard Supporters) Europe and Maisug International, an organisation formed last year that is less fanatical than the DDS.
Fight for funds
Despite what the humba video showed, Roque denied he was quarrelling with anybody. “Four individuals are at odds with DDS and Maisug. I tried to patch things up but did not succeed. I guess factions are almost routine in all Filipino communities,” he said.
But others believe the rifts run deeper – and are driven by cash and clout.
Joel Vega, a Filipino-Dutch freelance editor based in the Netherlands for over two decades, said the loyalist squabbling “can be traced back to money and funding.”
“It’s become more apparent now that they’re competing for the attention of their political masters and sponsors,” he said.
The loyalists gather nearly every day, usually beside the ICC detention centre, but sometimes in other places they are directed to by city authorities.


“Some pay their way, some are political tourists, the front echelons receive honoraria from handlers who are themselves campaign donors,” said Vega, who, though not based in The Hague, claims to have “moles and informers in both groups.”
Numbers are boosted when members of the Duterte family and show business personalities such as Senator Robin Padilla drop by to visit.
“Pro-Duterte activities are well funded, also many OFWs are thrilled by the presence of personalities,” a Filipino activist who asked to be identified only as Jun S., told This Week in Asia. “And a lot of [their] vloggers fuel the false news and hype.”
The volunteer for Migrante Netherlands, an organisation of Filipino migrant workers, added that “while the Duterte loyalists may be able to mobilise a significant number of OFWs, they certainly do not represent the interest of OFWs”.
Vega, who said he has been viciously attacked on social media by loyalists, described them as “politically immature, skewed, certainly not intelligent, and motivated by emotional triggers”.
Sources said some loyalists resented Roque’s presence. He vanished from the Philippines early this year, months before a warrant was issued for his arrest for human trafficking. Last year, a congressional committee declared him in contempt for failing to answer questions about his links to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator that has in turn been linked to human trafficking and torture.
He popped up in The Hague the same month Duterte was locked up in the ICC. “I’m here because Vice-President Sara [Duterte] asked me to come in March. I’ve since sought asylum,” he told This Week in Asia.
‘Crazy scheme’
Since making Switzerland his home, though, Roque has struggled to find his footing among Duterte’s European loyalists, according to Vega. “Roque is consistent in trying to maintain his dominance, but Alvin and his group do not respect him since they see him as a Johnny-come-lately.”
Despite being one of only six Filipino lawyers accredited to appear before the ICC, Roque has not been asked to join Duterte’s defence – something defence counsel Nicholas Kaufman suggested was for good reason. Kaufman accused Roque of attempting to insert himself into the case with what he described as a “crazy scheme” to sue the Dutch government over Duterte’s extradition.
“The former president has made it known that Roque should stop interfering in his case and return to the Philippines to sort out his own troubling legal issues,” Kaufman said, calling him “persistent to the point of obsessive” and “an irrelevancy”.

Roque, in a social media post, countered that instead of criticising him, Kaufman should “address the concern of Duterte’s common wife, Honeylet Avanceña, about the alleged suspension of her visitation rights” – a move reportedly recommended by the defence counsel himself due to her being “emotionally distressed” and making “wild allegations”. Avanceña is Duterte’s long-time partner and mother of his youngest daughter.
“Roque is useful in keeping alive Duterte’s facade of credibility, but has become a liability in recent months with his ballistic approach to issues,” Vega said.
The number of loyalists in The Hague is expected to rise on September 23, when the ICC holds a confirmation of charges hearing for Duterte. This time, though, they will encounter anti-Duterte activists who have scheduled a Duterte Panagutin (Make Duterte Answerable) protest march.
“We are trying to mitigate the possibility of a clash,” Jun S. said. “We are trying to arrange a conversation mediated by the church.”
Meanwhile, loyalist leaders are now inexplicably turning on each other. One Duterte vlogger, Maharlika, who used to be a fervent partisan of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, recently shot a video saying that some politicians like to visit The Hague only because they can easily get marijuana in the Netherlands.


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“Humba” is a caramelised version of the popular Filipino dish, “adobo”. Photo: Wikipedia

Harry Roque talks to journalists in The Hague on March 14. Photo: AFP

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Philippine Senator Robin Padilla carries a life-size full-colour cardboard cutout of Rodrigo Duterte on a bus in The Hague. Photo: Handout

Senator Robin Padilla having a “breakfast meeting” with Rodrigo Duterte’s standee in The Hague. Photo: Facebook/Robin Padilla

Supporters of the arrested former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte celebrate his birthday outside his residence in Davao City on March 28. Photo: Reuters

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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is in custody at The Hague. Photo: AFP

Paolo Duterte, son of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, has told his father’s “girlfriends” to “look for somebody else”. Photo: Reuters

Joyleen “Girlie” Balaba, Cagayan de Oro councillor, recently tried to meet Rodrigo Duterte, at The Hague. Photo: Cagayan de Oro City Council

Rodrigo Duterte with his partner Cielito “Honeylet” Avancena. Photo: Instagram/veronicaduterte

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Rodrigo Duterte with his partner Honeylet Avancena. Photo: Instagram/veronica duterte

Paolo Duterte, son of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, visited his father in The Hague on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Honeylet Avancena, the partner of Rodrigo Duterte, is reportedly not on good terms with the ex-Philippine president’s children. Photo: Edward Wong

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Families holding portraits of victims of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war watch a live stream of Duterte’s first appearance at the International Criminal Court on March 14. Photo: AFP

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The drama began with a plate of ‘humba’, but the true cause of the shouting match was a bitter power struggle for control


The drama began with a plate of ‘humba’, but the true cause of the shouting match was a bitter power struggle for control.


Filipino food fight at The Hague reveals deepening rift among Duterte loyalists

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The drama began with a plate of ‘humba’, but the true cause of the shouting match was a bitter power struggle for control

The drama began with a plate of ‘humba’, but the true cause of the shouting match was a bitter power struggle for control