Duterte’s murders in the drug war: cases closed, no action

Four years after the Duterte administration launched a fresh investigation into 52 drug war killings, the results are grim, contradicting claims that the local judiciary is working to bring perpetrators to justice.

Scrollytelling interactivityGillian Uy

Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives, according to human rights groups. The Philippine National Police (PNP) has admitted to killing 7,000 of those 30,000 people in legitimate anti-drug operations.

The Philippine government – ​​both under Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – claims that the local judiciary is working to bring to justice those killed without due process.

However, the data tells a different story. Of the 7,000 people killed in police operations, only 52 cases were reopened for reinvestigation in 2020. These cases range from 2016 to 2020. The year 2020 is significant because it was the time when the International Criminal Court (ICC) was investigating pending cases.

According to the ICC rules in the Rome Statute, indications or signs of a functioning local justice system can prompt the court in The Hague to resign. But this has not happened. The ICC investigation is still ongoing and the threat of an arrest warrant has been rumored for months. So far, nothing has happened.

After seven months of continuous freedom of information requests, Rappler can now present visual data of the 52 reopened cases. The 52 cases involve 59 victims and 162 suspects at the police station.

Four years after the renewed investigations began, the outcome is grim. Most of the cases (32 of them) were closed without criminal charges being filed.

There was only one case of conviction and even one case of acquittal. The government was able to bring three more cases to court, and the trials are still ongoing. Eight cases have been submitted to the public prosecutor’s office. Investigations are still ongoing in seven cases.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has reopened the investigation. According to the report, there were cases in which the police did not cooperate. Many cases were reportedly closed due to the families’ unwillingness to cooperate. Rappler has spoken to at least two families who have a different story – they wanted to cooperate but were asked to provide evidence themselves. At their request, we are withholding their identities.

They tell Rappler about their frustration in their quest for justice and the fear of not seeing results. They have been pressured and continue to live in fear.

We asked the PNP for their side and sent numerous requests to various offices including the office of the PNP chief but received no response. We also requested an interview from the NBI to ask further questions but received no response other than an acknowledgment of our request.

Missing information in this visualization is due to missing information in the NBI database itself. We can only fill in missing details if the information is available in other open source materials.

If you know the victims or their families in this database and would like to share their story, please send a message to [email protected] or the authors of this story.

Scroll down for information on the 52 cases involving 59 victims. The cases ended with one of the following outcomes: conviction, acquittal, ongoing or retrial, filing in court, pending before the prosecutor, or dismissal. For example, of the cases that went to court, nine involved victims. As you scroll down, red markers indicate the number of victims under each case status. Click on the victim’s name to see more details about each individual case.

– Rappler.com