Duterte’s admission that his only sin is the extrajudicial killings plaguing the country has enormous significance. It’s not true of course that EJKs is his only sin. Contrary to what the President claims, he has had people arrested illegally like Senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes. There is a lot of corruption in his government.
And for sure, the admission is not a joke; he is actually flaunting his impunity. His words are to be taken literally. He means them. It is consistent with previous statements about the collateral damage of his war against illegal drugs. His statement is also an admission against interest and can be absolutely used against him in the case of crimes against humanity that will most likely be filed with the International Criminal Court soon and, after his term, in the hundreds of murder cases filed against him in the Philippines. Every lawyer knows that admissions against interest have the strongest probative value.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights, an ecumenical group that assists and consolidates victims of the war on drugs, recently filed a communication and complaint with the ICC. Two cases included in the complaint are typical of the crimes against humanity that is being perpetrated in our midst, that of Bernabe Sabangan and Salvador Locasia Jr.
As narrated by the victim’s next of kin, which we reproduce in this article, Bernabe Sabangan dabbled in the drug trade as a small-time courier because of poverty. For a few months, when money was tight, he became a”•runner for the bigger pushers, delivering at most P200 ($4) worth of shabu at a time. He did not use drugs, says his sister, and quit the business entirely when Duterte came to power. He was afraid for his life, said Mariel Sabangan.
Bernabe surrendered to authorities by coming clean to his barangay captain. He was not put on any rehabilitation program because he wasn’t a user. But police later went after him, claiming, he kept at the business.
In May 2017, while he was watching late-night television with his friend Arnold Vitales, police swarmed into his house. His sister’s family, who had just retired for the night, was roused by shouting from downstairs no more than five minutes after. Armed men then barged into their bedroom and forced them out of the house.
Passing by the living room, Mariel saw Bernabe lying prone, handcuffed. Arnold was sitting on a chair, crying and pleading with the police. Many armed men surrounded them, with their guns trained on the two. All other people inside the shared house were ushered out, leaving the two men with the police.
When Mariel was outside the house, she heard gunshots, in short succession. Arnold’s elder sister, Angelica, then came around looking for her brother. None of them were allowed into the house or given information. For about 30 minutes, the police kept their place and were observed playing ball outside the house.
It was around 11:30 pm when officials from the barangay and investigators came to the scene. Two bodies, wrapped in bloodied blankets, were taken out and sent to the hospital. Bernabe and Arnold were declared dead on arrival. A funeral company processed the two bodies, with prior arrangements for discounts courtesy of the vice mayor’s office.
When Mariel returned home, their television set, watches, two cellphones and other personal belongings, as well as the motorcycle of her husband were missing.
The incident was reported by the police and portrayed in the media as a buy-bust operation conducted by joint elements of the Quezon City Police District and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The district police chief announced that the two were on a drug watchlist. Sachets of shabu, two handguns, and an improvised shotgun were allegedly found at the scene.
The case of Salvador Locasia Jr. was allegedly on the barangay drug list of Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, but this was not confirmed. Bongbong, as he was fondly called, used to be a small-time peddler and runner, when he needed the money for his family. Eventually, he settled into a stable, though not as lucrative, job as sidecar driver.
On a busy weeknight in August 2016, barely a month after President Duterte had taken oath, he was killed by four policemen near a neighborhood wake. Witnesses claimed that after a known police asset came by, four policemen arrived and directed everyone keeping vigil at the wake, except for Bongbong, to run away.
Police then turned off the lights thereabouts, including those around the casket. They dragged Bongbong away to a dark place. The witnesses then heard gunshots, and saw Bongong’s bloody body on the ground.
The police reported it as a buy-bust operation, complete with coordination forms and marked money. Bongbong, on his own, had fought back against a team of 20 police operatives, for about P200 worth of shabu, the police claimed.
Bongbong’s mother Irma Locasia tried to raise funds for her son’s wake and funeral. After relaying the situation to a local barangay official, the official remarked,”•ah, para sa anak mong adik? [oh, for your son who is an addict?]. Irma denies that her son ever used drugs.
Martin Luther King once said: That “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” An unidentified author also points out: “Justice will not fail, though wickedness appears strong, and has on its side the armies and thrones of power, the riches and the glory of the world, and though poor men crouch down in despair. Justice will not fail and perish out from the world of men, nor will what is really wrong and contrary to God’s real law of justice continually endure.”
Sabangan and Locasia, and their families, will get the justice that the Lord promises. Duterte’s admission about EJKs is a breakthrough and brings them and this country closer to that day.
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