A coalition of more than 20 organizations and families of victims of Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs launched on July 1 DEKADA or Dekada ng Sama-samang Pag-alala, Pagkakaisa para sa Hustisya (A Decade of Collective Remembrance, Unity for Justice) to mark a ten years since former President Rodrigo Duterte stepped up his dreaded campaign against illegal drugs that transformed the streets of Metro Manila’s impoverished communities red with blood of hapless victims.
“July 1 marks exactly 10 years since the issuance of the Philippine National Police Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 or ‘Project Double Barrel,’ which operationalized the Duterte administration’s nationwide anti-illegal drugs campaign,” DEKADA said.
Organizers of DEKADA drew stark historical parallels to July 1: “Just as the signing of Proclamation 1081 institutionalized Martial Law on September 21, 1972, July 1 stands as the foundational date of a decade of state-sanctioned violence and impunity.”
Among the legal, human rights and faith-based organizations that have supported the families over the last 10 years are the Ateneo Human Rights Center, Center for International Law (CenterLaw) Philippines, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services Inc. (IDEALS), Duterte Panagutin Network, Dahas Project ng UP Third World Studies Center and National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).
A 10-year journey from victims to survivors
NUPL lawyer and International Criminal Court assistant to counsel Kristina Conti said, “This is not only commemorating 10 years of Duterte but also 40 years since he was Davao City mayor and more than 50 years since Martial Law – all periods of systemic, state-perpetrated violence and abuse.”
“Filipino children lost their innocence; Filipinos lost their humanity during Duterte’s administration,” Conti told the gathering.
Conti represents the family survivors in the ICC proceedings against Duterte, who is detained at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen, The Hague, Netherlands.
Human rights lawyers Gilbert Andres and Joel Butuyan of CenterLaw, who represent the drug war victims in the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber, said they were happy to be home after their journey in The Hague, as majority of Filipinos in that part of Europe were diehard Duterte fans.
“We are happy to be home and to be part of this collective belief that we will attain justice,” Butuyan said. “Your prayers and courage is what inspired us to represent you in the court,” he added.
Family members sang and chanted slogans and listened to artists, group representatives and lawyers speak during a program prior to the candlelight ceremony.
Lawyer Aileen Almora of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, who lost her brother Ryan Dave in drug-related killings in July 2016, said, “I am here to remind the world and the government that we will keep demanding for justice so that our loved ones are not forgotten.”
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, Almora said she feels the anguish of losing hope but she and her family chose to fight, saying “the fight for accountability is not just about the past but also about the future—so that the same crimes against humanity will not happen again.”
“Our fight is to ensure that no more children are orphaned over simple accusations, that abuses of power never happen again, and that no more mothers and families are forced to embrace just a photograph of their loved one who was unjustly killed,” she added.
Moving beyond narratives of violence
Organizers of DEKADA said the ICC proceedings that confirmed all charges of crimes against humanity against Duterte and committed him to trial, scheduled to start on Nov.30, already holds a steadfast principle of justice – that “every Filipino deserves due process (and) that was never negotiable.”
The ICC also granted the prosecution’s request to freeze any money that was seized from Duterte upon his arrest and issued a warrant of arrest for Duterte’s co-perpetrator Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is at large.
“The coalition seeks to move beyond narratives of violence and spectacle to center the humanity of those affected,” the group said in a statement, as it invited the public to reflect on the voices, time, dignity, and futures that were taken and on Filipinos’ collective responsibility to uphold due process, accountability, and human worth.
Surviving families and the coalition also demanded that the ICC arrest the other co-perpetrators that it identified: former presidential aide Sen. Cristopher “Bong” Go, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief of staff Camilo Cascolan, former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former Manila Police District director Vicente Danao, former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Isidro Lapeña, and former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Prior to the launch of DEKADA, activists also launched last May the EJK Truth Commission, an independent fact-finding body looking into drug-related EJKs during Duterte’s six-year administration from 2016-2022.
The commission, made up of representatives of the Catholic church, human rights lawyers, forensic scientists and academicians, aims to gather testimonies from families and witnesses and prepare evidence and submit recommendation to the government to help surviving families attain justice and healing.
