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Sarah lost her sons to the Philippines' war on drugs. Will she ever see justice?
Former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs led to thousands of suspects being killed by police. Now with the presidency being handed over, the families of its victims are continuing their fight.
Published 3 July 2022 3:51pm
By Aaron Fernandes
Source: SBS News
Image: Sarah Celiz's sons Almon (left) and Dicklie were killed in the 'war on drugs' in the Philippines. (SBS)
For grieving mother Sarah Celiz, the pain of losing two sons to the drug war in the Philippines five years ago is still raw.
In February 2017, she was awoken to the news that her son Almon, 32, had been shot by police during a raid on suspected drug dealers. She says a witness later told her that he was unarmed and surrendered but police shot him anyway.
Almon died in hospital from bullet wounds to the head and chest.
Less than six months later, she says his younger brother Dicklie, 30, also disappeared after voluntarily getting into a police car. His body was found in an alleyway weeks later.
“His friend said to me, 'Aunty, hurry, come see your son'. They had wrapped a plastic bag around his head. A kind of sack. They put a black bag over his head," Ms Celiz says.
People hold portraits of relatives allegedly killed during anti-drug raids by police in Manila in 2017. Credit: AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
“In the early days, people just turned up dead in alleyways, in canals,” she says.
“Tied up, bound with tape, sometimes holding signs that said ‘I am a drug pusher, don’t follow me’.”
Lawyer Kristina Conti has been fighting for justice for victims of the Philippines drug war. Source: SBS News
Ms Conti works long hours, searching for justice for the slain. Her work is focused on trying to bring as many of the individual police officers involved to court to face murder charges. But it’s a monumental task.
During his term as president, Mr Duterte defended both the police and his policy, labelling those killed as drug dealers who resisted arrest, and frequently saying that police could kill if they believed they were in danger and he would pardon any who end up in prison.
Across the Philippines, only three police officers have ever been charged for their role in drug war killings.
The war on drugs hit hardest in poor urban areas of the Philippines among people that Ms Conti describes as ‘perfect victims’.
Rodrigo Duterte has consistently defended his war on drugs. Credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
“Whether or not they were involved in the drug trade, they blame themselves. That’s all perfect for this type of policy.”
Whether or not they were involved in the drug trade, they blame themselves. That’s all perfect for this type of policy.Kristina Conti, Lawyer
Ms Conti provides legal assistance to Rise up for Life and for Rights, a Manila-based NGO that started out by helping victims of the drug war with funeral arrangements.
“Families then started asking us if we could review the death certificates, whatever documents they had, to see if they could take the matter to court. They all want justice, and for some, that means seeing the police officers charged with murder,” she says.
Father Flavie Villanueva, who has been charged with sedition for his criticism of Mr Duterte's drug war, comforting family members of victims. The women are holding urns containing the ashes of remains exhumed from graves. Credit: JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
But the process is hampered by a lack of documentation and the Philippines National Police and other agencies saying they acted in self-defence while carrying out legitimate operations.
Added to those difficulties, witnesses to the killings are often too afraid to speak about what they saw.
“The problem is that when Duterte was president he was, in a sense, the king of the Philippines. People were afraid and many were hopeless, they would say, ‘even if I give you my statement, what hope do you have of securing a conviction?’,” Ms Conti says.
Stacked graves are common in cemeteries catering to the poor in the Philippines. The typical contract would be a five-year lease that many families can not afford to renew more than once. Credit: The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im
Of the 200 cases that Ms Conti’s organisation has assessed for possible prosecution, only six had enough supporting evidence and documentation to reach that preliminary stage and only three had enough to get past it.
“When you go to court, the police come with a different story. They say it was a drug bust, a legitimate operation, and the person shot first. They were killed in the course of a legitimate operation,” she says.
“It’s very hard for us because we’re only permitted to build a case against the specific officer that pulled the trigger. In our view, the courts in the Philippines don’t properly account for the concept of command responsibility and conspiracy in these cases.
“They are premeditated murders”.
'Crimes against humanity'
Mr Duterte finished his six-year term as president this week. His replacement, , which despite the killings remains a popular policy with many Filipinos.
Mr Duterte’s daughter, Sarah Duterte has become the country’s vice president.
At the request of Mr Duterte’s government and against the wishes of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, the International Criminal Court (ICC) suspended its own investigation of the drug war killings last year, instead allowing the administration to investigate them itself.
As Mr Duterete stepped down, the ICC all but acknowledged that was a mistake, and declared that it plans to reopen the matter as soon as possible.
“With a handful of exceptions, the Philippine Government has failed to provide any documentation to substantiate that the investigations are ongoing or complete, nor any details regarding concrete investigative or prosecutorial steps that have been taken,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement.
Sarah Celiz's sons Almon (left) and Dicklie were killed in the so-called war on drugs.
For lawyers like Ms Conti, charging Mr Duterte with crimes against humanity is necessary to ensure full accountability for the war on drugs.
The ICC investigation is the only one of its kind so far, inside or outside of the Philippines. In the Philippines, the prosecutions have tended to be the of individual police officers, who carried out specific killings,” she says.
“But there has been no investigation or prosecution for the massive amount of killing or in fact an investigation of the policy itself.
A display at the Silingan Cafe in Quezon City, Manila. Credit: JAM STA ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
She’s optimistic Mr Duterte will eventually face trial or at least be subject to a warrant of arrest by the ICC, which will deliver some justice to grieving mothers like Sarah Celiz, one of the many that couldn’t find it in a local court.
“That’s what the police told me about my sons; that I couldn’t take it to court because I don’t have any evidence. I don’t have any evidence.”
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