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Extrajudicial killings and the Philippines' morality battle

Social order must not come at the expense of people's lives
Extrajudicial killings and the Philippines' morality battle

The body of a suspected drug pusher, one of several victims of extrajudicial killings in recent weeks, lies on a Manila street. (Photo by Vincent Go)

Published: July 13, 2016 05:54 AM GMT
Updated: May 06, 2021 12:35 PM GMT

Violent death has become staple news in and about the Philippines. It seems morbid to keep track of these incidents but since President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office, at least 60 have been reportedly killed in police encounters. Police say the suspects fought back.  

At the same time, around the country, bodies have been found bloody, lifeless, and adorned with signs proclaiming their crimes. Nobody knows who their murderers are.  

These days someone’s life has become the price of theft, addiction, and drug pushing in the Philippines.

This in a way is not surprising. Duterte ran on the promise that he would eradicate illegal drugs and criminality in the country, within six months in fact.

When he met the police last week, he assured them of his protection if they killed "1,000 persons" in the line of duty. He also made it crystal clear that he knew who the drug lords were and that their days were numbered.

He publicly warned a certain Peter Lim, identified as a critical node in the illegal drug industry, that he would die as soon as he comes back to the Philippines.

The Commission on Human Rights has expressed its deep concern about these incidents and proclamations. Senate investigations are also underway.

But these concerns do not seem to resonate with the public.

People do not necessarily celebrate the death of criminals. But at the very least, there is no palpable uproar over extrajudicial killings and the readiness to kill. Also, many are increasingly open to the return of the death penalty in the country, with Senator Manny Pacquiao, a professing Christian and Bible preacher, backing this proposal.

A battle of moralities has begun in the Philippines. And much of it emanates from the new leadership. Whether we like it or not, hardline statements made by the president and his alter-egos matter. They matter because they have palpable consequences on people's attitudes and expectations.

They are not just words.

In early December 2015, just after Duterte finally decided to run for the presidency, the top national concerns of the electorate were purely economic: inflation, wages, and employment.

In late January 2016, when it became clear that fighting criminality was Duterte's battle cry, the use of illegal drugs placed second among the electorate's national concerns, taking over inflation, poverty, and employment.

The shift was not accidental. Duterte's rhetoric against illegal drugs was consequential. Even in my own research, I discovered that many supporters of Duterte in urban poor settlements were convinced that illegal drugs were their main enemy.

And so the expectations to deliver are high.

It is in this light that no public outcry against the death of criminals has surfaced. This morality asserts that their deaths are justifiable because pushers, addicts, and drug lords all constitute the web of evil in the Philippines today. Their deaths are justifiable in the name of social order.

And the rhetoric against them, however incendiary, has become official. At a press conference on July 11, Solicitor-General Jose Calida declared that to him, the "numbers are not enough." He resists the Senate investigations being planned.

Adding gravitas to the battle, hundreds of drug addicts around the country have voluntarily surrendered.

Life has become cheap and there is no more due process insofar as the fight against criminality is concerned. In the wake of all these deaths, many questions are left hanging: Are all these deaths justified? Were these individuals criminals in fact? Do "drug suspects" deserve summary execution? Who are behind the extrajudicial killings? How responsible is the new administration?

During his inauguration, President Duterte cautioned the Commission on Human Rights from interfering. He told the commission to "mind your work and I will mind mine." But to be the government's conscience is precisely the role of the commission. It has a difficult but noble role to fulfill in this battle of moralities. At the rate, human rights activists are not popular.

It is worth remembering that just over a year ago, Pope Francis visited the Philippines on the pretext of mercy and compassion. Thousands of lives were lost in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The consolation of souls — dead and alive — was much needed. More than a year later, in this battle of moralities, we need to recognize that a dead body is a life lost.

Social order need not be paid at such a cost.

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio, is a sociologist and the director of the Development Studies Program at the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.  Follow him on Twitter @jayeel_cornelio. 

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