Diabolos. Satan. Beelzebub. We call him different names and he is unaffected and never finds harm in killing. The “war on drugs” has killed thousands of poor people, at least more than 6,000 as police documented in their operation reports and probably more than 30,000 in total. The deadly project, labeled “kill, kill, kill,” left thousands of orphans and widows.

In April 2017, former President Rodrigo Duterte was heard telling an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport: “Pag wala kayong trabaho bigyan ko kayo…patayin ninyo lahat ng addict.”

“Tulungan mo akong patayin ang mga addict,” he told another OFW. “Magpatay kayo ng addict araw-araw.”

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His contempt for the poor seemed endless and his distance from Christian practice evident, as the former president admitted: “Kaya ako hindi nagsisimba. Kasi ‘pag magsimba ako, ‘Forgive me, father, for I killed three last night.’ Balik na naman ako kinabukasan, “Father, forgive me because I killed 10 drug lords. » Pabalik-balik ako, bakit pa ako magpunta doon? Useless.”

I have collected many quotes from Duterte on his “tokhang” project. They not only turn your stomach, but challenge your imagination with prayers, so that nightmares do not visit you. I deeply appreciate that the ongoing congressional hearings on extrajudicial killings have opened a window to assert the merits of holding Duterte accountable for his war against the EJK on drugs.

Reflecting on the absurdity of such inhumanity, my heart turns to the strength of mothers and children who still hope and artfully express their demand for justice. As a human rights advocate working with families affected by drug war EJKs through Rise Up for Rights and Life, I wrote down some of their stories so we don’t forget them.

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Nanay Emily, whose 15-year-old son was killed along with friends, urged him to bring together neighbors whose relatives were also killed for joint action to seek justice.

Another mother, Nanay Puring, said: “I wish we could forget. But we promise not to forget, which is why we will continue to demand justice. Unlike privileged families who have the means to leave one traumatized place and start their lives again in another, Nanay Puring and her family stay where the murder took place.

Nanay Estrella finds her strength in the victims who come together to think and study together. “I must speak out so that past abuses do not happen again. I know it’s dangerous because I’m afraid the police will come back to intimidate me. But I have to be strong. She is already 70 years old.

When the Caloocan judge issued a guilty verdict on two counts of homicide against four police officers for the murder of Luis and Gabriel Bonifacio, Nanay Estrella waited quietly with other mothers outside the courthouse. Nanay Estrella hugged Nanay Mary Ann, mother of Gabriel and wife of Luis, as she left the courtroom. Tears of common hope in a struggle for justice flowed among them.

Jane didn’t like to talk about it, but eventually she talked about her trip. “For over a year, a throbbing pain had been inside me. My husband’s promise to come to dinner will never be kept… because just as he was getting ready to come home, he was shot,” she said. Jane emerged from pain and mourning to become a leader and bearer of the demand for justice. She is among the leaders who help obtain documents and accompany other victims to government agencies in their efforts to access the services they need.

I congratulate the Quad Committee of the House of Representatives. I hope they will not let down widows, orphans and communities who yearn for justice. Mothers and relatives are demanding justice. They seek accountability.

DS. Norma Dollaga,

Kasimbayen

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