Philippines
United by grief, they’re fighting to make the former president answer for extrajudicial killings during his campaign against drug trafficking.
By Geela Garcia, Reporting Fellow
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — It’s been nearly five months since the International Criminal Court arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity, but Dahlia Cuartero, mother of Jesus “Daboy” Cuartero, killed in 2019 in Duterte’s drug war, still can’t put into words her relief, happiness and grief.
After six years, justice for her son seemed within reach.
Cuartero says at least two people were killed in her community every week during the country’s drug war operations, which lasted the duration of Duterte’s presidency, from 2016 to 2022. But she never thought her son would be among the up to 30,000 people killed, often at point-blank range in the streets.
Dahlia Cuartero shows a photo of her son, Daboy, on her phone, alongside his belongings in their home in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Daboy was killed in what Cuartero believes was a case of mistaken identity during a drug war operation in 2019. His family keeps his memory alive through the objects he left behind.
There were no witnesses to Daboy’s killing, so Cuartero couldn’t file a case against the police or the government. There were no investigations into the killings; usually, the police were involved. The bodies piled up and there was nothing families could do about it.
“My son was not a drug pusher,” she says. “It could be that he has been exposed to it, but he does not sell drugs.”
Two hours away, in Quezon City, Nanette Castillo shares Cuartero’s feelings. Her son, Aldrin Castillo, was killed in 2017.
When Duterte became president, he announced, “If you know any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself.”
Castillo never imagined that his operation would affect her family. Duterte had promised that fatal punishment was only for the wicked, she says.
“I knew my son was not like that,” she says.
Nanette Castillo sits beside a memorial to her son, Aldrin Castillo, at their home in Novaliches, Quezon City. Aldrin was killed in 2017 during a drug war operation in Tondo, Manila — shot five times by unidentified assailants in what Castillo believes was a case of mistaken identity. Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court has given her hope for justice.
But since his death, she’s wondered: If she’d raised him differently, would he have been where he was when he was killed?
Her doubts, grief and relief are common among members of Rise Up for Life and for Rights, an organization for families of people killed during the drug war. Their goal is to hold Duterte accountable — but online trolls have stymied their efforts.
Women who stand up to Duterte face violent threats. The threats are “psychological war operations because they are well funded and systematic, with a clear political agenda,” according to a statement from Karapatan, a human rights organization. The group also reports that Duterte’s political loyalists weaponize red-tagging, the practice of labeling someone a communist, and other online abuse.
Cuartero says she’s been harassed online, while Castillo says she’s been surveilled. Their aim is that, together with other mothers and relatives of those killed, they’ll be strong enough to withstand the harassment.
“Mothers of drug war victims share one story,” Castillo says, “and together, our voice for justice becomes stronger.”
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Geela Garcia is a Shifting Democracies Fellow at Global Press Journal, based in Manila, Philippines. Previously, she has covered women, food sovereignty, and environmental issues for prominent news outlets, including the Thomson Reuters Foundation, South China Morning Post, CNN Philippines Life and Philstar.
In 2023, Garcia’s cross-border reporting team received the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Award for Journalism Excellence for their investigation into modern slavery in Irish fishing vessels. Geela’s dedication to highlighting underrepresented communities and issues has also been recognized by the Prince Claus Fund, which selected her as one of three Filipino artists for its Seed Awards in 2023.
