Isidora Torrest, a Filipino-American residing in the US, wrote an article about how their family

was affected by President Dutertes was on drugs. She narrated in her article that she had a
cousin named Julie, not her real name, who was once a drug user; who turned her life around for
the welfare of her children and her family; who was in the process of obtaining her US visa to
have a chance in getting a piece of the American dream; who was robbed of her life due to her
prior involvement in illegal drugs; who was shot to death in front of her children by masked
gunmen who forcibly entered their home; who became a mere statistics in the Presidents war
on drugs.

She believes that her cousin did not deserve to die based on past drug use. Even if, for the sake
of argument that, the persons being killed are drug users, drug pushers, and even drug lords, it
does not strip them of their rights expressly provided by our Constitution. Despite the notion that
the country has become safer under the administration of President Duterte, that does not
preclude the fact that an association determined not only of Julies death but the death of
thousands as well, and no sense of safety could ever justify that. She did not deserve to have
her fate decided by someone else. President Duterte may have not pulled the trigger, but his
campaign had loaded the barrel.

Legal Issues:
The Right to life and liberty and the right of every person to redress are codified in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which were adopted and ratified by the
Philippines.
Section 1, Article 3, 1987 Constitution
Section 14(2), Article 3, 1987 Constitution

DISCUSSION ON THE EFFECTS:

A lot of sectors, both local and international alike, are alarmed by the current happenings in
relation to the Presidents war on drugs. Numerous sectoral groups are not only questioning the
proliferation of vigilante groups but also the sudden spike in the killings of suspected individuals
during legitimate police operations, it is as if the crime scene was staged to indicate that the
suspect tried to resist the arrest. Thus, the credibility of our Philippine National Police to carry
out its mandate as provided by law is being questioned; whether or not the Philippine National
Police is becoming an instrument of death thru the implementation of the Presidents war on
drugs since the President has, on numerous occasions, declared his unwavering support to the
Philippine National Police; but that support seemed to be misconstrued due to the sudden rise
of indiscriminate disregard of the right to life and liberty and the right to every person to redress
as codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which were adopted and ratified by the Philippines in
Section 2, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution in its declaration of principles and state policies which
states that:

Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to
the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.

Furthermore, the utter failure on the part of the Philippine National Police to bring vigilante
criminals to justice is adding more insult to the injury and give the impression that vigilante justice
is condoned by the police. The implementation of the drug war is not only harming the reputation
of the Philippine National Police but of the Judicial Department as well. The Constitution provides
in Article 3, Section 14 (2) that:

Section 14. (2)

[t]o have a speedy, impartial, and public trial

However, such right is hardly ever enjoyed by the accused, if not, not enjoyed at all by the
accused, not only those charged with violation of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2002 but those charged by another offense. The loss of confidence by the public is
made even worse when President Duterte released his narco list which provides the names of
over 1,000 barangay captains , policemen, mayors, governors and judges. The said narco list
indicates that the network between drug syndicates and government employees and officials is
very comprehensive. It goes without saying that drug syndicates are above the confines of the
law since they can tip the balance of justice in their favor.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN

The inaction or lack of sufficient action of previous administrations to address the drug problem
in the country has led to its rampant proliferation that it is being sold like candy on the streets.

Link:
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/i-blame-president-dutertes-drug-war-for-my-cousins-death

https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/03/02/license-kill/philippine-police-killings-dutertes-war-
drugs
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/09/16/1624294/1000-execs-judges-new-narco-list