'God never sleeps': Philippines opponents of Duterte's drug war

by Pam CASTRO

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs has always faced strong opposition on the home front.

This week, he was arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague to face crimes against humanity charges.

AFP speaks to four key opponents of Duterte's years-long crackdown against drug users and dealers that rights groups say killed tens of thousands of people.

- The priest -

The news of Duterte's arrest on Tuesday took several minutes to sink in for rights advocate Father Flaviano Villanueva. But when it did, the Manila-based priest told AFP that he immediately thought: "God never sleeps."

Villanueva has spent years assisting the families of those killed in the drug crackdown.

He said he told the widows he works with that "justice comes in different shapes".

"Legal justice is an expression of healing, especially in this situation, where Duterte's arrest is a manifestation of him paying for his sins."

But the killings were not solely the former president's responsibility, he said.

"He was merely the architect. There's also the carpenter, the mason, and the blacksmith. Everyone with blood on their hands must be accountable."

Even Filipinos who quietly applauded the drug war needed a personal accounting, Villanueva added.

"We can call it a national atonement."

- The jailed senator -

Former senator Leila de Lima spent six years in a jail cell on drug charges she and rights groups maintain were trumped up to silence her anti-drug war campaigning.

On Tuesday, she was in a Manila mall when news of Duterte's arrest flashed across social media.

"I asked myself, 'Is this really it?'" she said. "I still couldn't completely believe the warrant was there already."

While de Lima said she was thrilled he had been unable to "wiggle his way out", her happiness was muted.

"The wheels of justice are turning, but (I also feel) bitter and sad, because it took an international tribunal to be able to really do concrete things," she said.

Local authorities, however, now had a chance to make their mark, she said, by targeting lower-level accomplices, "especially gunmen".

"They should keep the ball rolling by filing the appropriate charges and prosecuting them," said de Lima.

- The forensic pathologist -

Forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun said she was driving from Quezon City when it was first reported that there was an arrest warrant for Duterte.

"That was the first time I cried," she told AFP, adding that she monitored the news the entire day.

AFP first met Fortun more than two years ago in a makeshift morgue surrounded by boxes of human remains.

Despite being a frequent target of threats, her efforts to determine the cause of death in the drug war killings are ongoing.

"The work has not stopped, there are more families to help... there are more bodies to be exhumed, more referrals to accept. These people are banking on me. So how can I stop?"

After this week's events, Fortun said she feels somewhat safer and is keeping her fingers crossed on the ICC case for the sake of the victims' next of kin.

"We are here for truth and accountability."

- The man behind the ICC case -

Former senator Antonio Trillanes said his office was "ecstatic" over Duterte's arrest following their "eight-year journey of gathering evidence" and coordinating with the international tribunal.

"His arrest is a strong message to the future leaders... If you abuse your power and oppress your people and worse, kill them, you will be made accountable for your actions," Trillanes said.

But he was also aware that Filipinos were "not unanimous in welcoming this news", and warned that destabilisation remained a possibility.

Trillanes, who once told AFP that Duterte had "the mindset of a hitman", said the public should not feel pity for an "old, sickly man" in custody.

Instead, Trillanes said, remember Duterte "when he was ruling like a king and ending people's lives on a whim".

"This is just the first step in the long journey in the pursuit of justice. But it's a big step just the same and we're going to keep our feet on the ground until the end."

pam/cwl/dhc

© Agence France-Presse