Philippine President Rodrigop Duterte. Photo: EZRA ACAYAN/REUTERS/The Atlantic he current brouhaha over the cancellation of Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa's U.S. multiple-entry visa might soon be overshadowed by the possible inability of Duterte himself to enter the United States. Notwithstanding Malacañang’s touting American President Donald Trump’s personal invite, an American law called the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act might prevent Duterte from setting foot in the United States. The upcoming summit of Southeast Asian leaders that Trump is organizing must naturally include the Philippine leader. However, the U.S. Senate recently passed Resolution 142, imposing sanctions on Philippine officials. Specifically: Members of the security forces and officials of the Government of the Philippines responsible for extrajudicial killings. Officials of the Government of the Philippines responsible for orchestrating the arrest and prolonged detention of Senator De Lima. On both counts, Duterte appears highly vulnerable. His past statements and actions are well known globally and are highly incriminating. There is strong American bipartisan support for the resolution. Also, the provision sanctioning Philippine officials was already signed by Trump himself. Thus, it would be short work to add Duterte’s name to the list of Philippine officials banned from entering the United States. The Duterte administration naturally sees this as American meddling in Philippine affairs. However, many other countries agree with what America’s Global Magnitsky Act endeavors to achieve. The United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and the EU have either passed, or are planning to pass, their versions of the law. Other countries are also cooperating with the U.S. as it implements the Global Magnitsky Act. Either way, Duterte and members of his administration may find it increasingly more difficult to travel outside the Philippines in the coming years. Except for non-democracies or rogue regimes like Russia, China, and North Korea, the global community of nations holds world leaders to a high standard. Leaders that fail to meet those standards will find themselves increasingly isolated. Duterte recently indicated that he might skip the U.S. summit. That appears to be a wise decision as there is a high probability that he and/or some members of his party would be denied entry into the U.S. Duterte—and rulers like him—needs to understand that he cannot deny Filipinos their fundamental human rights and expect the rest of the world to stand quietly on the sidelines. Today, the world is more interconnected than ever. So what happens to one group eventually affects everyone everywhere. Whether he likes it or not, Duterte will have to realize that he will eventually be made to answer for his acts because he is not above the law. Published 1/24/2020