𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗡: "War on Accountability, A Call For Justice" By Coleen Anne P. Dolor

Cartoon by: Mary Rose Cabatbat Allawigan

Published by: Dionne Jheoff A. Mendoza

Date Published: March 26, 2025

Time Published: 6:37 AM

A good deed won't patch up a heinous act bigger than the patch itself. Just because someone did good acts for the people doesn't erase all his wrongdoings that outweigh it all. Just because our former president, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, had done a good job at protecting the Philippines and even helping many doesn't mean that his war on drugs that caused extrajudicial killings and led to many innocent people being killed will be forgotten and left unjust. 

On March 11, 2025, Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against the "War on Drugs" extrajudicial killings (EJK). [1] This shocked many, stirring controversy and once again segregating the Filipinos into those who agree and those who don't. And just like any controversy, people started sharing their own views and opinions regarding the issue, causing conflicts within the Filipino citizens themselves. As Filipinos for many years have yearned for freedom and fought to be freed from presumptuous cruelty, why would we let go of the tremendous act of killings that has happened because of him?

The national “war on drugs” under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte killed an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 victims. [2] 122 of these are children, even including a one-year-old. [3] It is plain to see that these young kids couldn't have been one of those "drug addicts," and yet hundreds of them have still been killed. These innocent children and a lot more people had their lives taken away from them because of the negligence and lack of human rights of our leaders.

He promised to kill drug addicts, and he did. [4] Splattering their blood on the streets and killing them mercilessly. Duterte is being taken into custody by the ICC and giving him the rights of every human to be in trial, giving him a chance to defend himself; meanwhile, the people who were killed got stripped of their rights to even face the court. 

Once, he even claimed himself to be the Philippines' Adolf Hitler [5], who was responsible for the genocide of an estimated six million Jews and millions of other victims, a result of his racist ideology [6], as to where Duterte vowed to kill millions of drug addicts.Yes, drug abuse is something we should stop; however, confidently stating how he would happily slaughter millions of drug users and even comparing himself to Adolf Hitler is just outright inhumane. 

As Filipinos, we must recognize that our collective desire for freedom and an end to cruelty means that we must hold our leaders accountable for their actions. We must serve justice for the inhumane killings of the innocents. The arrest of Duterte is essential in serving what is right. We as Filipinos should advocate for the human right and choose leaders who not only want good for the country but also want a leader who wants good and will do good for the betterment of the country and the Filipino people themselves.

REFERENCES

[1] Philippines: Duterte arrested on ICC warrant. (2025, March 12). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/12/philippines-duterte-arrested-icc-warrant

[2] Philippines’ ‘War on Drugs’ | Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). https://www.hrw.org/tag/philippines-war-drugs 

[3]Ratcliffe, R. (2022b, October 19). ‘War on drugs’ blamed for deaths of at least 122 children in Philippines. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/30/war-on-drugs-blamed-for-deaths-of-at-least-122-children-in-philippines

[4] Reporter, G. S. (2016, July 1). Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-urges-people-to-kill-drug-addicts 

[5] Holmes, O. (2017, November 28). Rodrigo Duterte vows to kill 3 million drug addicts and likens himself to Hitler. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/30/rodrigo-duterte-vows-to-kill-3-million-drug-addicts-and-likens-himself-to-hitler

 

[6]

Michal. (2017, June 22). How did Adolf Hitler happen? The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-adolf-hitler-happen#:~:text=Upon%20achieving%20power%2C%20Hitler%20smashed,phase%20of%20World%20War%20II.