FEBRUARY 15, 2026 — Senator Christopher “Bong” Go is scrambling to distance himself from the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) explosive accusations linking him to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. Over the weekend, Go flatly denied any role, calling the charges “entirely unfounded, one‑sided, and unfair.”

Go insists he was nothing more than Duterte’s aide — first as executive assistant in Davao City from 1998 to 2016, then as Special Assistant to the President from 2016 to 2018. 

“Let me be clear, at no time did I have any involvement in, knowledge of, or authority over these allegations,” he declared, stressing that he never held the post of Presidential Management Staff chief, contrary to claims in the ICC document.

But here’s the twist: Go has long been known as Duterte’s most loyal shadow. 

Back in 2018, he famously said, “Kung makulong si Pangulong Duterte, makulong din ako. Sasamahan ko siya para maalagaan ko siya.” 

(If President Duterte goes to jail, I will also go to jail. I will accompany him so I can take care of him.) 

Now, that’s not the kind of vow you forget — and now it’s coming back to haunt him.

The ICC’s prosecution papers don’t just name Go. They also tag Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, and ex‑PNP chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Vicente Danao. The allegations? A “quota and rewards system” for cops who killed drug suspects, allegedly overseen by Duterte and Go. Retired police colonel Royina Garma even filed an affidavit claiming Duterte and Go coordinated cash rewards for extrajudicial killings.

Go, of course, rejects all of this. He paints himself as a public servant driven by compassion. 

“Alam ng aking mga kababayan na ginawa ko lang ang aking trabaho na naaayon sa batas ng tao at batas ng Diyos upang matulungan ang aking mga kapwa Pilipino, lalo na ang mga mahihirap at walang ibang malalapitan kundi ang gobyerno,” he unashamedly insisted.

(My countrymen know that I only did my job according to the laws of man and of God to help my fellow Filipinos, especially the poor who had no one else to turn to but the government.)

Meanwhile, Duterte himself is already in The Hague after being arrested last March at the request of the ICC. He faces charges of crimes against humanity, accused of creating, funding, and arming death squads that carried out murders of alleged drug users and dealers. His confirmation of charges hearing is set for February 23 to 27, 2026.

And now look where we are: Duterte sitting in detention, Bong Go denying involvement, and the rest of us left scratching our heads. How can someone who pledged undying loyalty, who once said he’d share a jail cell with Duterte, now really convincingly claim he had nothing to do with the drug war that defined Duterte’s presidency?

Is this denial the sound of loyalty snapping?

(Image: Senate of the Philippines | Facebook)