“War on Drugs” in the Philippines | Families Seeking Justice

In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte rose to global prominence by launching his “War on Drugs”, openly calling for the “slaughter of drug addicts”. Result: from 12,000 to 30,000 victims, often in troubled circumstances. With his departure and the election of a new president in the spring, the families hoped for justice. But they risk being disappointed.

Janie Gosselin
The Press

Make the bones speak

The COVID-19 economic crisis has hit the Philippines hard. For relatives of people killed at the height of the “War on Drugs” in 2016-2017, the price hike coincides with the end of five-year leases at the cemetery.

For many families, it is unthinkable to accept that the loved one be thrown into a common grave, for lack of being able to pay for the renewal.

“The people who have been killed are the poorest of the poor”, specifies in videoconference the D^D Raquel Fortun, joined by The Press in Manila.

Organizations such as Project Arise, founded by priest Flaviano Villanueva, offer families exhumation and cremation. But before burning the bodies, the D^D Fortun, medical examiner, wanted to perform autopsies. To provide answers to the bereaved, skeptical of the conclusions of the police. Numerous human rights organizations have denounced incomplete police reports, falsified death certificates, fabricated evidence.

Father Villanueva therefore began to transport the remains to the morgue of the university where Dr.^D Fortunate.

Contradictions

In one year, the D^D Fortun said she received the remains of 60 people — 58 men and two women, she said, ranging in age from 17 to 62. She analyzes their bones — since that’s all there is left after five years — compares her results with the death certificates. And raises doubts about the official versions.

The Philippine police have admitted to killing citizens in their operations. What is called into question is rather the self-defense explanation.

“Nanlaban”, or refusal to comply, was frequently cited to explain the deaths of 5,281 people in anti-drug operations between 1^er July 2016 and February 28, 2019, according to figures from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency – a disputed number.

Even though the D^D Fortun is not an expert in ballistic reconstruction, the location of the bullets allows her to doubt, in certain cases. “For example, I saw a bullet enter the arm, which did not exit, says the one who studied in the United States, showing the location on her own biceps. That means the person had to have their hands up. In other cases, there were bullets in the wrists, what would be called a defensive wound. »

ICC investigation

In September 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized the opening of an investigation into “crimes against humanity”, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and torture. Citing various reports and articles, the ICC prosecutor estimated that from July 2016 to March 2019, between 12,000 and 30,000 civilians were killed in operations related to the “war on drugs”, by representatives of the security forces. order or civilians playing the vigilante.

“It’s not just about murder or genocide, it’s a war on the poor,” said Patricia Lisson, president of the Canadian chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP Canada). ). The organization lobbies various authorities to seek justice.

The ICC investigation has been suspended to allow the Philippine authorities to carry out their own investigations, as required by the Court’s rules. Dissatisfied with the answers, the prosecutor asked this summer for the reopening of the procedure; victims or their representatives have until September 8 to file additional information with the Court.

new president

The D^D Fortun does not know if the cases she analyzes will end up in the hands of an investigator or in front of a judge. The election in May of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his vice-president Sara Duterte – daughter of the former president – ​​leaves little hope of an opening to foreign investigators.

In the same breath, the D^D Fortun points to the lack of expertise in this area in the country.

In 2018, three Manila police officers were convicted for the murder of a 17-year-old boy in a drug bust. The Philippine government announced the creation of a commission in June 2020, after admitting to the UN Human Rights Council that police had failed to follow protocol in “at least 52 cases”, involving some 150 policemen. Investigations are still ongoing.

Human being

In the hope that her work can be used, the D^D Fortun scrupulously records everything she observes in her autopsies – carried out voluntarily –, dreaming of a long break to type all her reports.

Above all, she does not lose sight of the fact that the bones on her work table were first human beings. In an interview, she wonders aloud about the diet of these people with distressing teeth. Behind her small dark glasses, she is moved by the care taken by the family in the choice of clothes for the final resting place of the deceased.

“You don’t lose your sense of humanity,” she remarks. I see them as people. »

“We should never forget”

Of Filipino origin, Maria has lived in Canada since the 1990s. In the fall of 2017, she received heartbreaking news: a relative, father of three children, had just been shot dead by the police. At home, at night.

Police say he resisted drug-related arrest — something his family doubts.

“Maybe he was taking a few drugs, maybe cannabis, but not on a regular basis, and he was certainly not a salesman,” the woman said, by videoconference.

Although she lives in Toronto, she refuses to reveal her real name, that of the 30-year-old killed in 2017 or the bond that unites them.

“I’m afraid for the rest of my family who are there,” she explains. They could be an easy target. There is a climate of fear, they would not get sympathy or help. »

Stigma remains strong for relatives of victims of the “war on drugs”, she says.

Popular

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who ended his last term in the spring, enjoyed great popularity in several segments of society, seduced by his outspokenness and his strong methods.

“A good number of people were in favor of the idea of ​​tackling drug-related problems,” recalls Georgi Engelbrecht, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, reached by telephone in Manila.

The International Criminal Court

In 2018, as the International Criminal Court (ICC) began to address violence linked to operations in the Philippines, the president announced his country’s withdrawal from the court’s founding treaty. He subsequently banned foreign investigators from entering the country.

This did not prevent the ICC from opening an investigation, for the period when the Philippines was still part of it. The probe was suspended in November to allow the country to investigate on its own, but may resume soon. It targets alleged crimes allegedly committed from 2011 to 2019, the years of the “war on drugs”, but also those when Rodrigo Duterte was mayor of Davao.

Rodrigo Duterte could not run for a new term and his departure gave hope for an end to impunity among many families.

The election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dampened their expectations.

The new president, elected in May, said a few weeks ago that he had no intention of joining the ICC. He had already indicated that he would not support the Court’s investigation, which targets the policies of his predecessor – and father of his vice-president, Sara Duterte.

“Marcos knows the drug war has been popular,” Engelbrecht said. But he must play his international cards well because of his father’s shadow [le dictateur Ferdinand Marcos]. He did not make a foolish statement. »

Remote survey

ICC investigators are unlikely to be able to travel to the country to do their job. But this is not a unique case, underlines Miriam Cohen, associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal.

The outcome of the investigation and possible subsequent legal proceedings could take many more years, she adds.

Maria, for her part, took steps, from Canada, to try to obtain answers about the death of her loved one. Without success. She did not submit any testimony to the ICC, out of respect for her family’s wishes in the Philippines. But she continues to monitor developments.

“We should never forget what happened,” she said.