With thousands of deaths still unaccounted for, a simple sorry isn’t going to cut it.
Former Cebu City Police Office chief Royina Garma, during the recent House Quad Committee hearing, apologized to the victims and their families who suffered under the brutal war on drugs.
She tearfully admitted to the atrocities of the drug operations.
Garma apologized on behalf of her officers, acknowledging their mistakes but stating she could not control all of them. She explained that while the officers were trained and knew the rules, they often had to rely on personal discretion and instinct in the field.
But the numbers painted a grim picture.
The government claimed that more than 6,000 deaths were linked to anti-drug operations from 2016 to 2022, during President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
This is contrary to the human rights groups’ data, which estimated the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000.
Cebu province ranked second in drug-related deaths during the drug war, with over 500 casualties, according to media reports.
Bulacan province, which topped the list, saw more than 1,000 lives lost.
According to reports, the deaths occurred after drug suspects allegedly resisted police arrest, a claim disputed by the victims’ families and witnesses.
Apologies, like one from Garma’s, will not bring the lives lost or heal the broken families.
In reality, Duterte’s bloody drug campaign has devastated families, leaving children orphaned and spouses widowed.
Duterte himself was implicated by Garma in orchestrating a nationwide campaign responsible for the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
A public apology isn’t enough. Those involved in the unlawful killings should be investigated and prosecuted to bring justice to the families of the victims.
Remember the enormity of the killings committed and those lives lost.