House drug war probe highlights police inaction faced by EJK victims

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Tuesday began its first hearing into the extra-judicial killings that resulted from the Duterte administration’s drug war, allowing select relatives of victims and human rights lawyers to testify for the first time in the lower chamber about the scale of government inaction during the former president’s brutal six-year campaign against illegal drugs.

Victims’ families told House lawmakers that for years, they have borne the brunt of authorities’ inaction and apparent reluctance to fully cooperate in their quest for justice, pushing them to bring their case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), also known as the court of last resort.

Sheerah Escudero, whose brother, Ephraim, was found dead in Pampanga with his head wrapped in tape in 2017, said that she recalled approaching police officers who refused to provide them with information or evidence about Ephraim’s demise. 

“Wala kaming nakuhang kahit anong info. They never showed us the evidence. Possible din na isa sa mga evidence noon makakapaglink talaga na police ang gumawa. (Pero) hindi sila nakipagcooperate saamin,” Escudero said. 

(We didn't get any information at all. They never showed us the evidence. It's possible that some of the evidence could really link the police to the crime. [But] they didn't cooperate with us.)

Llore Pasco, a mother of two drug war victims and a volunteer for human rights group Rise Up for Life and for Rights, also recounted the difficulties she faced in trying to retrieve her sons' bodies with little cooperation from authorities.

"Pinagpasa pasahan kami bago ko nakita ang labi ng aking mga anak... Noong nagdown kami ng P50,000, halos nabubulok na ang katawan ng aking mga anak dahil sa di maayos na pagkakalagay ng formaline sa kanilang mga katawan," Pasco said.

(We were passed around before I saw the bodies of my children... When we paid P50,000, my children's bodies were almost decomposed because formalin was not properly administered to their bodies.)

Lawyer Neri Colmenares, co-counsel of the families of extra-judicial killings victims in the ICC case, said that among the evidence that they will present if the ICC goes to