via Derick Sistoso, Pressroom PH
Do you believe that creatures who look, talk, and walk like us— but aren’t us at all— are real?
In the past, crowds told the tale of human-like monsters who roamed ancient, shadowed, and forgotten lands— those who were said to encounter one never came back home. But to be fair, they didn’t have the press— or any journalist riding their horse towards a jaw-dropping case. Maybe that’s why these humanoid entities started to evolve: copying our genetic imprint, our tongues, our image, and our voices, because they weren’t talked about, nor were they watched closely, leaving room for bedtime horror stories, and not enough for the truth. Maybe that’s why you couldn’t see the real monster that stood behind the lectern: former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the man responsible for the deaths of thousands.
Most say he was “cutting edge,” I would say he was cutting the very edge that the poor were clinging to. Take off your jaded lens and look around you: the poor are juggling two to three jobs while taking care of their kids, to pay for their food, education, and basic needs. They push through the arson-like heat, as if the sun itself had its vendetta against them, with only a pamaypay and a few sips of water to stave off heat stroke. This scenario isn’t just a speck in our country; this is reality in almost every city and province. The only thing making it worse is the privileged people who brag about their safety during the Duterte regime, while the people who live in the slums feel every surge of fear, every wave of depression, every knock that could be their last.
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), over 6,200 people were killed in official anti-drug operations during Duterte’s presidency (2016–2022), with the majority being denied access to a fair trial. However, the Human Rights Watch countered that the death toll may have reached 27,000 to 30,000 when including vigilante-style killings and deaths not officially recorded. With bodies on bodies racking up in piles, only a handful of them have led to convictions, such as the killing of a 17-year-old named Kian Delos Santos. Not only has PRRD failed to ensure accountability, but he has also enabled a culture of impunity and a state backed by violence and pure defamatory views against the poor.
He even said so himself, “My only sin is the extrajudicial killings.” That quote was widely reported by many news outlets, including Time Magazine and Reuters. Additionally, he even told the police to shoot drug-suspected users, promising them protection and medals in return. Even before his presidency, he told the public that if he won as president, he would kill you, referring to criminals and drug suspects. What a hypocritical move, if only he knew what would serve him in a few years.
Not only was the drug war widespread and systematic, carried out with total impunity, but Reuters also said that the Philippine National Police (PNP) falsified crime scene evidence, planted guns, and manipulated drug war reports, tampering with crucial evidence, leading to a Pulitzer-winning investigation. The Human Rights Watch stated that police operations were often staged, with victims shot while kneeling or asleep, and reports doctored afterward. Not only was he afraid to murder, he was afraid of being silenced too, so he silenced Senator Leila de Lima, a famous Duterte critic, who was jailed during his time, while the press suffered constant attacks.
Adding gasoline to the flame, the London School of Economics (LSE) coldly stated that police received an estimated amount of ₱8,000–15,000 per suspected drug user and dealer killed, with bonuses of up to ₱1 million for drug lords, often in cash payments delivered by police headquarters. The same LSE report found that some police officers colluded with funeral homes, receiving cuts for every body delivered, turning death into a profitable market scheme.
Not only does this highlight the wrongdoings that die-hard Duterte supporters (DDS) praise, but this also comes to show how diluted the press and news outlets were during his time. Every time a person posted a horrible thing that PRRD did, their chances of being held at gunpoint exponentially increased. He wanted that good press, but never wanted good interest. All he ever did was build, build, and build walls around the truth so that no man could ever uncover its foul-tasting truth. High as a skyscraper, but lower than hell is his morality and respect towards his nation. Not only is this a detestable move, but this also frames him as the monster that he truly is.
The devil doesn’t always wear horns, hold a pitchfork, or red skin— sometimes, he wears a suit, holds a suitcase, and skin made of fabricated lies, bound with the blood of the innocent.
