As Duterte turns 80, drug war victims’ kin mourn for missed birthdays
Netherlands-based artist Victor Cantal unveiled this painting, “Theatre of Terror,” depicting the victims and families seeking justice. —Photo by Jofelle Tesorio | The Filipino Correspondent Network – Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As Vice President Sara Duterte blew out birthday candles in front of eager supporters to celebrate her father’s 80th birthday on Friday, the sister of two victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines offered prayers and lit candles for her slain brothers, whom she said would no longer celebrate another day.
On March 29, supporters of Duterte had a picnic-style gathering in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center in Scheveningen, a place known for its expansive beach and leafy neighborhood.
The highlight of the gathering was the speech from the younger Duterte and other personalities.
There was a call to campaign and vote for senatorial candidates supported by the older Duterte, punctuated by singing and dancing, as supporters from different places in the Netherlands and other European countries shared potluck Filipino food.
The grey skies and drizzle did not dampen the celebratory mood, and many went home at 3 p.m. in high spirits. Some even gave leftovers to the media.
READ: Highlights: Rodrigo Duterte’s ICC pre-trial
‘War against the poor’
About 5 kilometers away, at the back end of a solemn church located in a migrant neighborhood of the Hague, Mira Cruz, with a facemask on and surrounded by activists and lawyer for the victims Kristina Conti, recounted how her two brothers were killed by the police in Duterte’s drug war.
“Duterte’s drug war was never about justice. It was a war against the poor. They went after those who had nothing, those who couldn’t fight back,” Cruz said.
She said she came forward to show that justice was not impossible.
“First, the reality that you can use justice. Duterte’s arrest is an indication that justice is possible. But aside from that, the first thing that comes to my mind is, if the people who did not lose themselves continue to fight for justice, it will strengthen my heart and other victims and their families,” she said during a sit-down with the press.
Mira Cruz (left) recalls how the police her two brothers during Duterte’s drug war. With her is Kristina Conti, a lawyer for the victims. —Photo by Jofelle Tesorio | The Filipino Correspondent Network – Netherlands
During the fateful day of May 12, 2017, one of Cruz’s younger brothers was going to work in the south of Manila. The other younger brother asked to come with him.
Her brothers, 33 and 31 at the time, were the youngest siblings of five.
“As it turned out, that was the last day that they would be seen alive, as they went missing that day, and it was only around noon the following day, on May 12, 2017, that my family found out on the news that they got killed,” she said.
“The news didn’t say who they were, but my eldest brother was able to identify them. So obviously help was sought to find out where they were brought, but our long ordeal and agony to retrieve my brother’s bodies started at that point,’’ she added.
According to her, the police gave conflicting information about which funeral home the remains of the brothers were taken to, and they were given confusing and conflicting information about the whereabouts of her brothers’ bodies.
“So, apparently, the police turned over my brothers’ bodies to this certain funeral home, and it turned out to be co-owned by a police officer. To cut a very long story short, the funeral home demanded more than 100,000 pesos before they would release my brothers,” she said.
For her, that experience has put her family in distress, and even when they buried the two brothers, they continue to suffer as they seek justice.
Online threats
She said they keep on receiving threats online from people who told them that her brothers deserved to be killed because they were “addicts.”
When asked what she felt when she heard many Filipinos saying that former President Duterte was innocent and that he would not need to be held accountable for victims of his war against drugs, Cruz said: “It hurts to hear that because you are repeatedly victimized and you are repeatedly traumatized when people force you to prove that you are the victim and you are the one who will prove that it happened to you. It hurts for me and for all the victims’ families.”
Cruz narrated that her family receives online attacks daily: “From the most petty, the most inappropriate comments to death threats… So you really need to preserve your sanity. And [bear] how low they can go.”
Other families of victims have also reached out to her, but many were afraid.
“That’s what gives me the strength to continue to face this, even though it’s like you’re always in danger. Especially the war on those who are pursuing justice,” she said.
Cruz added that commemorating the memory of her brothers and other EJK victims on March 28 was symbolic because Duterte turned 80 years old, but his victims would not get to be 80 years old or even a year older.
“That is why Duterte’s life when he reached 80 years old is important to his family and those who support him. But he did not value the lives of his victims and the lives of each person,” she said.
“For him, most victims of the war on drugs are the poor… We can see that those who are in power are the only ones who have the right to live and have the right to reach 80 years old,” she added.
Accountability network launching
On Friday, March 28, the Duterte Panagutin Europe Network was launched.
It’s an alliance of organizations, individuals, and solidarity groups from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom demanding accountability from Duterte for his drug war.
The launch event featured convening organizations reciting their commitment to continue the fight for justice for the victims of Duterte’s drug war.
Lawyer Kristina Conti (center, with blue scarf) and Mira Cruz (wearing facemask) with the convenors of the Duterte Panagutin Network. —Photo by Jofelle Tesorio | The Filipino Correspondent Network – Netherlands
“We light candles not for Duterte, but for the tens of thousands of victims who were murdered without trial and due process. We remember the grieving families, the orphans, and the mothers who still search for answers. Duterte may celebrate in comfort, but we will ensure that the world does not forget his crimes,” said Patricia Enriquez of Pinay sa Holland-Gabriela and convenor of Duterte Panagutin Europe.
The launch was a solemn event in the belly of a church frequented by migrants. There was no celebration, but a quiet prayer while candles were lit and ribbons pinned on the photos of the victims.
During the event, Netherlands-based artist Victor Cantal unveiled a painting, “Theatre of Terror,” depicting the victims and families seeking justice.
Netherlands-based artist Victor Cantal explains his painting to the audience as lawyer Kristina Conti looks on. | —Photo by Jofelle Tesorio | The Filipino Correspondent Network – Netherlands.
Cantal described his painting this way:
“The setting of Duterte’s theater of war on drugs was the back alleys of the poverty-stricken communities. Executed at night when justice was asleep. It was often accompanied by heads wrapped in packaging tape, cardboards with the label ‘drug addict,’ and a gun planted to make it appear that it was a gunfight.
“In the UN, they use a giant chair with a broken leg as an opposition to landmines and cluster bombs. This bloodied, cheap plastic chair is my symbol of the poor communities that were most vulnerable in Duterte’s extrajudicial killings. I used a less vibrant color palette to portray the horrors of the time.
“In addition, I picked a woman as the subject as a response to how the former president normalized misogyny. This painting is a reminder that Duterte’s reign of terror was not a distant past but a present horror that disinformation is trying to revise.
“Finally, art by itself is not enough for the fight for justice. However, it is very important in the fight against disinformation. Art can expose, inform, and educate. With words, symbolisms, shapes, and colors, it can easily bypass biases and censorship.”
To sustain the activities of the movement, organizers said they would have candle-lighting activities in Belgium on Saturday, March 28. They will also conduct forums in several countries, and in the Philippines, they will continue to push back against fake news and disinformation, which they said only suit the narrative of the perpetrators and their supporters.
After the launch of the Duterte Panagutin Network, just like other Filipino supporters of Duterte in the Hague did, the conveners of the network had a salu-salo (potluck) of Filipino food and desserts.
