FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT

Presenting itself more as a talk show than a genuine investigation of the War on Drugs, the hearing last 28 October 2024, offered the drug war architect, Rodrigo Duterte, a stage to construct narratives and justification for the extrajudicial killings rather than adhering to the factual information about its inhumane consequences. The hearing catered to emotions and nostalgic “back in Davao” anecdotes, failing to offer transparent and evidence-based explanations for the drug war atrocities that have painfully resulted in a trail of bloodshed, claiming innocent lives and disproportionately affecting marginalized Filipino communities, all while favoring the elite.

This theatrical act is no longer an unfamiliar tale. Deliberately hiding the true extent of the casualties, distortions were made by the Duterte administration to taint the drug operations’ casualty reports. Branded as "Real Numbers" by the Philippine government, figures claimed 6,252 deaths from July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2022. Absent from this tally were the victims of unidentified assailants, also referred to as vigilante-style killings, which human rights groups estimated as between 27,000 and 30,000. The police and the Duterte administration suppressed data releases, manipulated “death” and “homicide” terminologies, and misrepresented figures to diminish the gravity of the crisis. 

It is with an enormous effort to try to comprehend Duterte’s philosophy on criminality, and this alarmingly high casualty count doesn’t help. Despite his incoherent speeches, however, Duterte manages to deliver his own belief system with disturbing clarity. He and his followers share the resolute belief that extreme punishments are key to deterring criminals. The brutality of the drug war campaign feeds the desire for these philosophies. In the words of Raymund Narag, “For ordinary Filipinos fully convinced of his philosophies, these are swift responses from a strong, dedicated, and morally upright President.”

But are these swift responses truly sustainable to achieve real peace? 

No Filipino must discard from their memories the events on the night of 16 August 2017. Dragged into a dark alley, the 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos was killed in an encounter with the police. The authorities have alleged that Kian had fought back (nanlaban), justifying the use of firearms. 

However, the CCTV footage and witnesses painted a different story: Kian was dragged, chased into a macabre race as the police brandished weapons, and shot from a distance. 

In a similar grim turn of events on 26 December 2017, Bernadette Nuñez faced her December morning with the sight of her son, Karl Anthony “Tutoy” Nuñez, lying on the ground marked by gunshot wounds to his body and head. Tutoy, later found to be a "mistaken identity," fell victim to the chilling portrait of extrajudicial killings despite no evidence of possessing drugs or weapons.

While Duterte repeatedly declares his readiness to face jail, he stops short of taking full responsibility for the deaths of Kian and Tutoy. Dwelling on his personal narratives and Davao reminiscences, the former President avoids any admission or remorse for these deaths, which is no longer a matter of coherence but one of basic humanity. Moreover, directly from his mouth came the admission of having a personal death squad and creating a police force encouraging suspects to fight back (manlaban), providing officers with a reason to kill them.

Kian and Tutoy were just two of thousands of innocent victims whose deaths were callously treated as mere instinctive reflexes, wrongly targeted, and sacrificed for the medals and promotions of police officers enticed by the rewards dangling from the Duterte tree. These supposed forefronts of peace and justice unjustly took the lives of innocent Filipinos, all the while profiting from the funds of these very victims of a corrupt system. 

Hyperfixated on his “philosophy of punishment,” Duterte’s drug war clings to a false idea of peace and fails to address the roots of the issue. In the pursuit of a quick fix, authoritarian, and hyper-masculine response to the drug-related problem, he undermines the prospects for sustainable solutions that prioritize the front end of the drug issue—poverty eradication, community development, education, and psychological support over punitive measures. Our country still has a long way to go and is continuously regressing, even. However, by persistently laying the realities on the table, no one can and must let these crooked administrations fake their way out of accountability.