By Danielle Roberto

In the modern-day Philippines, a king conquered the throne and declared a tumultuous war among his people. He promised that he will cleanse the country with his iron fist. So, he wielded his sword and called upon his vanguard. The knights in blue came storming in, hailing the new leader, pledging loyalty to him. And when darkness befell on the land, the troops, who once wore the azure sea, soaked in the ocean of blood, with cold steels in their hand as they terrorized the long night. The harrowing change that the king had sworn to deliver became evident by dawn. The first blush of the new day was tinted red. 

 For years, the criminals masked as valiant heroes have served their lord and protected their image. The police built a tower of corpses fortified by violence. As the nights grew unruly with relentless raids, the tower only soared higher and higher. The victims of the ruthless war on drugs ended with immeasurable deaths—more than 20,000 extra-judicial killings, and even children weren’t able to escape the savagery of cops. 

This is not a cautionary tale to fear the force. This is the truth. It could happen to you, to your loved ones, or the people around you.

“Tama na po, may test pa po ako bukas..”

Kian Delos Santos, 17-year-old, pleaded in anguish before he was helplessly murdered near his house by three police officers who accused him of being a drug-runner—a claim which his family highly doubted. He was one of the many minors whose youth was stolen and whose bright future was obscured by the supposed “protectors of the land”. 

“Walang dala yan..”

In April of 2020, Winston Ragos was shot and killed by a police officer who was enforcing quarantine protocols. The officer thought Ragos was grabbing a gun, despite the witnesses telling him that Ragos was unarmed, the police officer made the lethal move that later caused Ragos’ life.  Later in the investigation, it was proven that the police had planted a gun on Winston in an attempt to undermine the crime. 

“My father is a policeman!” 

“I don’t care!” 

Sonya Gregorio embraced her son, Frank, and furiously worded her defiance against the cop’s daughter, without realizing that those would be her last. In December of 2020, a video of a police officer committing double-homicide caused public outrage on all platforms. The police officer, Nuezca, held out his weapon and fired at the defenseless civilians without any hesitation. Nuezca gunned down the victims, the mother Sonia and Frank, in front of his daughter as if it was the most natural thing to do. As if it was an instinct. After such an atrocity, no remorse was found in Nuezca and his daughter’s face, only vanity and gratification from their soothed wrath. Now, the question is, how many were left unfilmed? How many were not caught by the public eye? Could there be more shrouded bodies lying underneath the death tower structured with brutality? 

These killings will never be isolated, no matter how many times claimed. After numerous pardons, the impunity that enabled the blue knights to stand above the law became more potent. The systematic exoneration of police breeds oppression and complacency among precincts. As long as their crimes go unpunished, as long as they’re given more bullets to rain over civilians, as long as they’re well-cherished by their leader, then the killings will never stop. 

This is not a cautionary tale to fear the force. This is the truth. It could happen to you, to your loved ones, or the people around you. Do not look away, this is the reality we’re all living in. Instead, figure out the true change that we really need today to ensure that tomorrow will not be tinted black. The modern-day Philippines is a democratic land,  someone may be sitting on the presidential throne, but the crown still falls into the hands of its people.

Sources:
ABS-CBN News. (2021, January 11). Killer cop Nuezca dismissed from PNP. ABS-CBN News; ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/11/21/killer-cop-nuezca-dismissed-from-pnp
BBC News. (2018, November 29). Philippines drug war: Police guilty of murdering Kian Delos Santos. BBC News; BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46381697
Esquire Philippines. (2020). Who Will Protect Us From Our Protectors? Esquiremag.ph. https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/police-brutality-cases-philippines-a00203-20201221
Felbab-Brown, V. (2017, August 8). The human rights consequences of the war on drugs in the Philippines. Brookings; Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-human-rights-consequences-of-the-war-on-drugs-in-the-philippines/
Guardian staff reporter. (2018, November 29). Philippines police jailed for murdering teenager in Duterte’s drug war. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/29/philippines-police-jailed-for-murdering-teenager-in-dutertes-drug-war
Jodesz Gavilan. (2018, November 28). TIMELINE: Seeking justice for Kian delos Santos. Rappler; Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/timeline-justice-trial-kian-delos-santos
Lian Buan. (2018, November 29). Court verdict: Cops lied, Kian delos Santos helplessly killed. Rappler; Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/caloocan-court-verdict-cops-lied-kian-delos-santos-helplessly-killed
Lian Buan. (2020, June 4). NBI: Cops murdered Winston Ragos, planted evidence. Rappler; Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/nbi-conclusion-cop-murdered-winston-ragos-evidence-planted
Tostevin, M. (2019, July 18). War on numbers: Philippines targets drug killing data. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-drugs-idUSKCN1UD1CJ