Duterte's supposed "pro-China" aesthetics masks the fact the he has never changed/repealed the country's current treaties with the US. He's all talk.
His release of Joseph Scott Pemberton, the killer of Jenifer Laude, a trans woman, to be taken cared of by the US Marine Corps is very telling of the US-PH relationship, letting Pemberton get away scot-free.
No person should ever defend Duterte. No remotely leftist person in the country likes Duterte.
For a deeper look on land disputes in the post-EDSA Philippines, I can recommend watching Sa Ngalan ng Tubo/In the Name of Sugarcane (2004)
The documentary framing is reminiscent of The Battle of Chile trilogy, but maybe that's a bit of a stretch from me lol