“War on Drugs: A Lament to Human Rights”

A case analysis on the Extra-judicial Killings in the Philippines

By: Piven James C. Sarong

PHILOSOPHICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF GUIDANCE

The issue on drugs has been a long societal issue since time immemorial. In the

Philippines, the issue of drugs is almost as old as poverty that lurks in the painful truth of the

advancing Filipino society. Though were not really the center of drug history like how other

countries ignited war for opiates, or how their judicial system resorted to legalize certain drugs

like marijuana to be exact. But Philippines is of no exemption to the devastating tentacles of

drugs that victimize the innocent and the vulnerable minds of the poor. Every day in the news

we hear crimes brought about by drugs, corruption among the top government officials, public

servants involved in drugs and the daily reports of killings that are beyond our imagination. This

created a frame of helplessness, and a society that is immune from monstrous deeds of

humanity. When the night come, danger in the dark corners of the street could never be

neglected. We knew families with members driven to be servants of drugs, and we knew of

how the few benefited from the vulnerabilities of the poor. We hear from government leaders

a promise of a brighter and a safer community, but they have all forgotten their promises. We

long for change, but we can only speak of it as a matter in time.

Time in itself had favoured those who are tired of putting their hopes to incompetent

leaders to address the issue of drugs in the country. A very promising name stood amongst the

rest. A man with words as they say. A man proven to instil peace and order in his fist. A man
who can carry out the change for our hopeless situation of politics. A man hailed to be “Change

is coming”.

When President Rodrigo Roa Duterte came to power, the Filipino people is promised

with a felt change in less than six months. Indeed, in less than a year, the whole country felt

that change and the rest of the world too. We all felt how killing is so instant and how justice is

neglected to those victims who died just to carry out the change as promised. The concern

about the massive extra-judicial killings in our country has called attention to so many

advocates of human rights. We have heard protest and condemnations from various

organizations to the president’s deal of fighting drugs. And to those families of the victims? We

don’t know if change was friendly to them after all.

“War on Drugs: A Lament to Human Rights” is a vis-à-vis account to explain the case in a

triad approach of philosophy, sociology and psychology. In this case analysis, I seek to explore

the issue in both sides of the coin in order to understand and explain the implications that EJK

had shaped in our zeal and aspirations as a society and as a people.

 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The following theories are of relevance and importance to explain and explore the case

mentioned:

CONFLICT THEORY

A sociological theory that is based on the premise that some group dominates or some

are resistant to some domination. In the case of EJK, it is indeed fitting that groups and

organizations who are human rights advocate must condemn and protest for this inhumane

resort of solving a societal issue.

CRITICAL THEORY

A sociological theory that aims to critique and change society. This is the part where

media plays a great role. Some individuals, politicians, church and organization leaders

expressed their views on the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines.

FUNCTIONALISM

A sociological theory that stresses how elements of society need to work together to

function as a whole. In the case of War on Drugs in the Philippines, the executive body of the

government as well as police authorities including the church authorities are in collaboration to

entice people for voluntary surrender. However, this solution serves only temporary relief for

the issue. The government and the whole social institutions must take the heed of fighting

against the issue on drugs in their own way to achieve a collective result that is enduring and

massive. Because if the war on drugs exists just because a certain government leader is making

it a priority, then what happens to the issue after his term?

SOCIAL POSITIVISM

A sociological theory that emphasizes that social processes should be studied in terms of

cause and effect. Protest against the war on drugs is that of its weak foundation to address the

issue. Social analysts argues that the government’s move to solve the issue of drugs in the

country is only temporary. Many people protest that the root cause on the issue of drugs in the

country is inherent to poverty. And that the government must target both the root and the fruit

of the issue in order to solve the issue of drugs fully.

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

There is one philosophy that I can find Duterte’s way of leading is comparable to. The

“Art of war Philosophy”. This is proposed by Sun Tzu a Chinese Military General, one of the

greatest and strategist leader in the history.  His philosophy sites principles on how to be a

great leader and ensure that one wins in work, management, and life.

In this perspective, I seek to understand Duterte, a psychopath, a dictator, or a political

genius as others call him in relation to his principles of political will and leadership ideologies.

An ancient wisdom says that knowledge is key to any successful warfare strategy, Duterte has

been deliberately sewing deception in his vulgar words of killing and annihilation. In Sun Tzu’s

quote, “All warfare is based on deception. Therefore when capable of attacking feign in

capacity; when active in moving troops, feign in activity.” To understand this principles as

applied by Duterte in his political will, we must dig into the Filipino social culture of how

Filipinos observe and implement the law. In the Philippines, we use tactics such as markings of

don’ts, and prohibitions with paired sanctions. Some are initiatives by the government, while

some are merely graffiti and vandalisms from concerned citizens such as “Bawal magtapon ng

Basura Dito”, “Bawal Umihi” and so forth. You will see how simple laws in the Philippines are

not strictly enforced. As if “Bawal” is meaningless to the ignorant and knowing of the law is

optional. Our justice system becomes unreliable with corrupt officials from the highest to

lowest ranks. However, Duterte still believes in our judicial system, that the law is not the

problem, but the people implementing it. Duterte plays ac of savagery, threatening on both
sides, in order to create a frame of boldness and firmness into the minds of the ignorant to fear

of the law and its consequence.

Synthesis:

Philosophical Perspective would see Duterte as a leader firm to his ideals and principles,

a man imbued with zeal to discipline his people. In this perspective I mirrored his leadership

and political will to what is known as the “Art of War Philosophy”.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Since taking office in June 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has launched

an immense campaign against criminality and the illegal drug trade that has resulted in the

deaths of suspected drug personalities and criminals in the country. In his administration’s anti-

crime and anti-drug campaign, President Duterte gave police officers an order to gun down

criminals and drug dealers and promised them a reward for catching drug suspects. Moreover,

he encouraged vigilantes and civilians to kill the drug addicts living among them. In just two

months (i.e. from July 1 to September 5, 2016) since the anticrime and anti-drug campaign has

been carried out, more than 1,000 drug personalities have been killed during police operations,

over 15, 000 suspects have been arrested, more than 680,000 surrendered voluntarily to the

authority, and at least 1,500 cases were classified as deaths under investigation. The apparent

surge in killings of criminals and drug suspects in the Philippines has elicited criticisms from the

Catholic Church of the Philippines, human rights groups, and even the United Nations,

European Parliament and the United States. These people view the Duterte administration’s

approach to resolving the issues of illegal drug trade and criminality in the country as not being

in line with global drug control measures of extrajudicial killing, and a violation of fundamental

human rights.

As the War on drugs progresses, and the number of killings become so much of what

this society could bear, a number of artists are moved to dedicate their artworks to mark their

protests on Duterte’s War on Drugs.

 In the report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic

Review of the Philippines in 2017 by the Ateneo Human Rights Center, the definition of extra-

judicial states that: "Extrajudicial killings are those 'executions or deaths caused intentionally by

the attacks or killings by State security forces, paramilitary groups, death squads or other

private forces cooperating with the State OR TOLERATED BY IT." This create a reign of terror in

the country as well as a reign of tailored security and peace having all those prospects to be

criminals killed.

In the context of President Duterte’s verbal attacks on the United States and threats to

break all strategic relationships with it, the art of war states: “If you know the enemy and know

yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” In contrast, he states: “If you know

neither the enemy nor yourself you will succumb in every battle.” As four million Filipino

Americans observe Duterte’s often defame the US government and his wholehearted efforts of

allegiance to China, I wonder if he really understands the Filipino community’s aspirations

worldwide, as well as of the other countries.

Synthesis:

In Sociological Perspective, the Darwinism paradigm views the Filipino society in an

advancing state of having a leader with a strong fist to carry out our long forgotten ideals of

ending drugs. Conflict theory, on the other hand would explain how advocates of human rights,

as well as various organizations are resistant to that change. Critical theory holds explanations

why Duterte administration is always challenged with condemnation from various leaders and

politicians alike. Personally, this country will never have a perfect leader, but at least this time,
we are blessed with a driven one. And if time comes that his ways are beyond what we could

bear? Well history has an account of what we could do as a united people.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

In an interview, Duterte explained that the issue of drugs in the country is a very

miserable issue, and that he would rather “intimidate” and strike “fear” into the hearts of the

criminals that his very existence would drove them to order. Duterte boast of how he

successfully made peace and order in his native land in Davao, where finally anyone can

securely walk in the street at night, and anyone can eat anytime anywhere without fear of

criminals around. This act of intimidation and inflicting pain follows a theoretical dynamics of

learning theories as to how people can associate Duterte with santions of law or punishment.

The massive killings deters crimes by creating a frame of fear as if Duterte has eyes and ears

watching you.

Below is taken from a pubished journal entitled “War on Crime and Drugs: Understanding

Support for the Anti-Crime and Anti-Drugs Campaign” by Randolfh Nerona De La Salle

University.

It is well documented that punitive and threat-attenuating attitudes are deeply rooted in Right-

Wing-Authoritarianism (Altemeyer, 1996; 1998; Duckitt; 2009), a social attitude dimension that

is defined as a confluence of three social attitudinal clusters: conventionalism, authoritarian

aggression, and authoritarian submission (Weber & Federico, 2007). People who are high in

RWA prefer order, traditional values, and conformity (Federico, Weber, Ergun, & Hunt, 2013)

and this preference is expressed in the form of motivational goals of establishing and
maintaining security, stability, order, and cohesion in the society (Duckitt, Wagner, du Plessis, &

Birum, 2002; Duckitt & Sibley, 2009; Duckitt & Sibley, 2010). Supporting extant literature that

highlights the association between RWA and sociopolitical attitudes (RWA; Altemeyer, 1996;

1998; 2006; Duckitt; 2001), recent studies have shown that RWA predicts support for strict

threat-attenuating policies (e.g. Craig & Richeson, 2013) and prejudice against dangerous

people (e.g. criminals and drug dealers; Cantal, Milfont, Wilson, & Gouveia, 2015).

Synthesis:

Psychological perspective views Duterte whether directly or indirectly adheres a dynamics of

learning as he impose the law to his people. Social learning views the deterrence of crimes with

the killings of drugs addicts and drove drug users to cease using drugs so they will not meet the

same fate.

The fragment of a published journal that I utilized in this section seeks to explain the underlying

theories and concepts why Duterte is widely supported or condemned on the contrary on his

account of “War on Drugs”.

INSIGHTS

President Rodrigo Duterte is undoubtedly a larger-than-life political figure who adheres

to the principle that “the end justifies the means”. For me this is isn’t about him with a

possibility of facing loads of criminal charges and ending in prison after his term. This is about of

his promise of extending the change he has made in Davao down to every corner of the

country. Sadly, we are a country who a usually put their presidents in jail after their term.

Personally I have felt the change that Duterte had made in this country. But my

existential view somehow supports his idea of how killing the damaged few is inevitable to

preserve multitude. A metaphor of disposing rotten tomatoes free from the fine ones. Though I

haven’t I am not in favour of how our justice system could be tailored n favour for those who

are in the position, But I believe justice will be served and that would be a faithful waiting even

until Duterte cease on his term as president of this country.

This country has been filled with fascinating stories about drug war, and many of the

plots would normally appear only in movies. For example, many popularly elected officials at

the local level are themselves powerful gangsters. Over the years many government leaders has

been largely unable to bring these local barons into line. However, things have begun to change
ever since Duterte took office, with the drug war he has initiated targeting exactly these

powerful local politicians.

Many ordinary Filipinos appear to favour eliminating drug dealers through summary

executions. Because they have lost faith in their country’s judicial system, for them extrajudicial

killing is the only way to effectively combat the nationwide scourge of illegal drugs. However,

public opinion isn’t always necessarily on Duterte’s side when it comes to executing drug

dealers without proper court sanction, particularly when these extrajudicial killings have gone

terribly wrong.

Duterte framed his drug war as an existential challenge, a fight to preserve peace and

order and a crusade to save the country’s youth. “If you destroy the youth of my land, I will kill

you” has been a recurring threat in his pronouncements on the subject. Since his time as mayor

of Davao, Duterte’s campaign against crime and the illegal drug trade has been unrelenting,

catapulting him to national prominence.

However, for all the hype that it has attracted, Duterte’s attitude to drugs is no regional

exception. Many of the country’s neighbours, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia

and Singapore, have waged crackdowns to eradicate drugs and impose the death penalty for

drug-related crimes.