The Long Arm of the Law: In the Philippines, the Rules Remain an Afterthought
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The Long Arm of the Law: In the Philippines, the Rules Remain an Afterthought
PHILIPPINES
When former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on March 11 on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, the Philippine public was shocked.
Some protested his arrest, saying the former president is loved for what he did to bring law and order to the streets of the Philippines. Others celebrated, calling the arrest retributive justice for a man who unleashed murderous thugs on the population, killing thousands of people.
“Domestic reaction in the Philippines is deeply divided,” wrote the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noting that the former president left office with an approval rating of 80 percent.
“(Still), there is no doubt that Duterte’s arrest has brought a sense of optimism for victims of his extrajudicial killings that they will finally get justice,” it added. “Within the Philippines, justice for past atrocities remains elusive, especially when the accused hold powerful positions.”
Even before he became president in 2016, Duterte, as mayor of his hometown of Davao, earned the moniker “the Punisher” for his violent war on drugs, which he escalated after assuming the presidential office. He is accused of ordering police and vigilantes to kill thousands of people on suspicion of involvement with drug trafficking, often without proof. In reality, human rights officials say that meant that anyone who could even be tangentially linked to using or selling drugs – even based on a rumor – could be targeted.
As a result, the nationwide drug war killed at least 6,280 accused drug dealers and users, according to the government. The ICC estimates that number to range between 12,000 and 30,000 people from July 2016 to March 2019.
Duterte has long said he was doing what he promised voters. In 2016, during his presidential campaign, Duterte vowed that 100,000 people would die in his crackdown, with so many dead bodies dumped in Manila Bay that it would “fatten all the fish there.”
“These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, don’t go into that, even if you’re a policeman, because I will really kill you,” he said soon after he became president. “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself, as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.”
Testifying before a Senate hearing into the killings in November, Duterte was defiant, saying that he had kept a “death squad” of convicts instructed to kill other “criminals.” “Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it … I did it for my country.”
People like Joel Valles, owner of Sana’s Carinderia, a barbecue restaurant in Davao, are grateful to Duterte. Davao used to be a dangerous place, says Valles, with carjackings and muggings a normal occurrence. But that changed when Duterte took office.
“You have to make (the criminals) fear,” he told New Lines magazine. “A lot of hard-headed people, especially drug pushers and rapists were put … six feet under.”
After Duterte stepped down in 2022 due to term limits, his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., son of the deposed former president, Ferdinand Marcos, promised to stop the killings and hold those responsible accountable, creating a task force and launching investigations. He said he would focus on community-based treatment and rehabilitation.
But things haven’t changed under Marcos or his vice president, Sara Duterte, the daughter of former president Duterte, analysts say. There is still little to no due process. Meanwhile, there is at least one extrajudicial killing a day. That’s why the ICC, despite requests by the Philippine government over the past few years to do their own internal investigations, said in 2023 that it was “not satisfied” and pressed on.
In fact, in 2023, there were more drug-related killings than the year before, when Duterte left office, noted World Politics Review. These continued in 2024.
“Marcos’ wider promises on the drug war … have proven completely hollow,” it wrote. “In fact, he has shown no inclination to end the extrajudicial killings of drug users that have left Filipinos living in fear.”
As a result, residents of many communities are still afraid, they say.
“Duterte’s gone, but his influence is still going,” one resident of Navotas, a poor city north of Manila with one of the highest concentrations of killings under Duterte, told NPR. “Because of the vigilantes, if you look like you’re using drugs, even if you’re not using drugs, you (are) still killed. There’s no justice.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Russia, Ukraine, Trade Blame Over Easter Ceasefire Violations That Threaten Peace Talks
UKRAINE
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a 30-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, further complicating US-led efforts to broker a lasting truce in the three-year war, Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a cessation of hostilities and instructed his forces to pause fighting from 6 p.m. Moscow time until midnight Sunday. The Kremlin cast the gesture as a test of Ukraine’s willingness to engage in peace efforts and thanked US President Donald Trump and other leaders for their mediation attempts.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow continued shelling Ukrainian targets and conducted drone attacks over the weekend, reporting 46 Russian assaults in a 16-hour period. He proposed extending the ceasefire to 30 days, but warned that Kyiv will keep defending itself against Russia’s assaults.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry countered that Ukrainian forces violated the truce more than 1,000 times, citing drone and artillery attacks that allegedly killed civilians and damaged infrastructure in Crimea and around Russian border regions.
Although both sides claimed there was a reduction in fighting on the frontlines, Reuters was unable to verify battlefield reports from either side.
The weekend fighting comes amid pressure from the Trump administration to secure a negotiated settlement.
Trump – who has repeatedly pledged to end the war quickly – warned Friday that the United States would walk away from mediation unless progress is made soon.
The apparent breakdown in ceasefire observance underscores the difficulties facing the Trump administration, which last month suggested a 30-day truce plan that Ukraine accepted but Russia rejected.
Analysts told the Wall Street Journal that Putin’s ceasefire offer may have been aimed at avoiding US disengagement and positioning himself as a peacemaker without making real concessions.
However, Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials remain wary of such offers, warning that temporary pauses allow Russia to regroup militarily.
Despite the failed truce, a large prisoner exchange took place Saturday, with 277 Ukrainians and 246 Russians repatriated.
At the same time, Moscow said it has expelled Ukrainian troops from 99.5 percent of Russia’s Kursk region, a key area seized by Ukraine last year.
Ecuador Warns of Assassination Plot Against President Shortly After Election Win
ECUADOR
The Ecuadorian government declared a state of “maximum alert” over the weekend due to an assassination plot against President Daniel Noboa, saying the threat comes from criminal groups acting in coordination with political factions defeated in the country’s recent general elections, Al Jazeera reported.
The country’s Ministry of Government announced there were plans for “an assassination, terrorist attacks and … violent protests” against Noboa and other officials.
The warning followed the leak of an intelligence report earlier this week, which suggested hitmen had entered Ecuador from Mexico and elsewhere to carry out the alleged plot.
The ministry said “all security protocols have been activated,” adding that the military and police were working to neutralize the threats.
The government’s move comes days after Noboa defeated his rival Luisa González in the April 13 presidential runoff.
Although no suspects were named, officials blamed the assassination plot on “bad losers” of the recent elections, including the Citizen Revolution Movement – led by González and linked to former President Rafael Correa.
However, critics claimed that the authorities have not provided evidence of the alleged plot, with González rejecting the allegations as “desperation to silence us.”
She reiterated claims of electoral fraud in the presidential elections, which she lost by more than one million votes. González said she will challenge the results, according to the Associated Press.
The alleged plot comes as Ecuador grapples with escalating violence from drug trafficking gangs and cartels. In January, Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” to combat the criminal organizations.
The incumbent rose to power with promises to fight organized crime and revive Ecuador’s economy.
On Friday, gunmen killed at least 12 people at a cockfight being held in Manabí Province.
Mass Trial Of Anti-Government Protesters Begins in Turkey
TURKEY
The trial of 189 demonstrators began in Istanbul over the weekend, after Turkish authorities charged individuals participating in anti-government protests sparked by last month’s arrest of prominent opposition mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the BBC reported.
The defendants – most of them students, along with eight journalists – are accused of participating in protests banned by authorities, failing to comply with police orders to disperse, and, in some instances, carrying weapons.
The trial comes a month after Turkish authorities arrested Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu on corruption charges, sparking the largest mass anti-government demonstrations in more than a decade, Euronews noted.
İmamoğlu and his supporters condemned the detention and charges as a politically motivated move by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the 2028 presidential elections.
Despite a ban on public gatherings in Istanbul, the protests quickly grew into nationwide demonstrations, with police detaining more than 2,000 people – the majority of them students.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said more than 800 people will be tried in total, across 20 separate criminal investigations.
Friday’s trial at the Istanbul courthouse is the first of these proceedings.
During the opening session, defense lawyers argued for the acquittal of all defendants, calling the charges an assault on constitutional freedoms.
Human Rights Watch said those on trial face potential prison sentences ranging from six months to five years. According to the Parents Solidarity Network, about 50 students remain in custody, while others were released ahead of the trial following pressure from families and rights groups.
The court agreed to separate the cases of eight journalists, who were charged with participating in illegal gatherings. Although their lawyers insisted that the reporters were simply doing their jobs, the court rejected their request for immediate acquittal.
DISCOVERIES
Ice-Age Shopping
Long before carts and wheels existed, the prehistoric inhabitants of North America had their own way to move their stuff across muddy terrain with kids in tow.
Scientists recently found a series of ancient drag marks next to human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, dating back more than 20,000 years, according to a new study.
These peculiar marks appear to have been caused by early settlers using wooden travois, simple sled-like structures made from two poles lashed together.
“We know that our earliest ancestors must have used some form of transport to carry their possessions as they migrated around the world, but evidence in the form of wooden vehicles has rotted away,” said the study’s lead author, Matthew Bennett, in a statement. “These drag marks give us the first indication of how they moved heavy and bulky loads around before wheeled vehicles existed.”
Bennett and his team discovered these marks alongside some of the oldest-known human footprints in the Americas, dating back 23,000 years.
Some drag marks appeared as single lines – likely made from two poles joined at one end – while others were parallel lines, suggesting a cross-lashed design.
The researchers wrote in the Conversation that travois have long been known from Indigenous North American traditions. While historical examples were often pulled by dogs or horses, the White Sands tracks suggest a much earlier, human-pulled version.
To confirm the theories, Bennett’s team recreated travois setups using wooden poles and tested them on mudflats in the United Kingdom and in Maine, US.
“In our experiments, our footprints and lines (left) in the mud from the poles had the same appearance as the fossilized examples that we found in New Mexico,” Bennett said.
The authors added that many of the accompanying footprints were made by children, suggesting that as adults hauled supplies, younger members of the group walked with them.
“It appears to be the ancient equivalent (of a shopping trip), but without wheels,” said Bennett.
Co-author Sally Reynolds said the study offers a rare window into everyday life during the last Ice Age.
“These people were the first migrants to travel to North America,” she said in the statement. “Understanding more about how they moved around is vital to being able to tell their story.”