{"id":13995,"date":"2026-09-18T06:55:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/?p=13995"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:48:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:48:30","slug":"truth-commission-hears-families-appeals-for-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/truth-commission-hears-families-appeals-for-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Truth Commission hears families\u2019 appeals for justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mariza Hamoy spoke<\/a> about the killing of her 17-year-old son, Darwin, during the Philippine Truth Commission\u2019s second hearing on August 27, 2026.<\/p>\n

The Truth Commission is an autonomous initiative led by members of civil society, formed<\/a> to investigate and record incidents of drug-related killings and abuses that occurred during former President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s so-called \u201cwar on drugs.\u201d It provides<\/a> a safe space for victims and survivors to share their stories, and suggests ways to achieve justice, institutional change, and healing.<\/p>\n

Mariza described<\/a> her family\u2019s ordeal in a nearly three-hour testimony.<\/p>\n

A team of 16 police officers killed<\/a> Darwin and several others in what police described as a drug raid on August 15, 2016, in Payatas, Quezon City. \u201cNo questions were asked; police officers just shot him and the others,\u201d she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mariza stressed<\/a> that Darwin was not involved in drugs. Only after eight days, after searching in hospitals, she found<\/a> his body at a funeral parlour in Quezon City. She had to pay<\/a> 50,000 Philippine Pesos for his body\u2019s release.<\/p>\n

Mariza recalled<\/a> being denied access to police records, and the legal setbacks she faced in seeking justice. She said she filed<\/a> two complaints, both of which were eventually dismissed. Mariza only learned<\/a> \u00a0this year that the charges had been dismissed.<\/p>\n

Authorities claimed<\/a> that those killed engaged the cops in a gunfight (so-called \u201cnanlaban\u201d, meaning “fighting back”), a claim disputed by families of the victims. Criminal charges filed against policemen who were reportedly involved in Darwin\u2019s killing were dismissed<\/a>. Administrative charges against their station commander in Payatas were also dropped.<\/p>\n

Former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said<\/a> the dismissal meant there was \u201cno evidence to support the accusation that the policemen used excessive force\u201d during the raid. He defended<\/a> the station commander, saying that no substantial proof was submitted to corroborate the charge that he had a hand in the killing of Darwin and other drug suspects.<\/p>\n

Human rights advocates criticized<\/a> the decision, arguing it further harmed victims\u2019 families, shielded wrongdoers, and undermined the principle of equal protection under the law.<\/p>\n

Panelo\u2019s \u2018propaganda\u2019 critique<\/strong><\/p>\n

While many see the Truth Commission as a step toward accountability, others have accused<\/a> it of bias and political motivation. Among its most vocal critics is<\/a> Salvador Panelo, former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel of Rodrigo Duterte.<\/p>\n

Panelo dismisses<\/a> the organization as a \u201cone-sided propaganda tool\u201d, arguing that allegations of extrajudicial killings should be presented to state prosecutors.<\/p>\n

In a recent television interview, he suggested<\/a> that the commission serves only to tarnish the reputations of Duterte and his political allies, including Vice President Sara Duterte.<\/p>\n

Commission leaders have firmly rejected<\/a> such accusations.<\/p>\n

Forensic pathologist Dr Raquel Fortun noted<\/a> that that families like the Hamoys \u201clost every step of the way,\u201d frequently finding that the authorities investigating the killings were the same ones implicated in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that these families have no resources, their connection is limited, and they have no money. That\u2019s why it angers me when people say \u2018just file a case.\u2019 Do you know how hard it is, especially if you are a nobody and a victim?\u201d she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortun condemned<\/a> the inadequate police procedures, restricted access to information, and the complicity of some doctors in falsifying death reports.<\/p>\n

Truth Commission Chairperson Raul Pangalangan clarified<\/a> that his organization does not have prosecutorial function, but it is open to all perspectives, including those from police officers.<\/p>\n

The Philippine National Police (PNP) responded<\/a> with cautious support, saying it \u201cwelcomes any independent initiative that aims to deliver clarity and healing to our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said<\/a> that the police force will cooperate with the commission within legal protocols and highlighted recent reforms, including the use of body cameras and stricter supervision of anti-narcotics units.<\/p>\n

The Truth Commission plans<\/a> to hold regular sessions and publish findings and recommendations every six months.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo \u00a9 Raffy Lerma<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mariza Hamoy spoke about the killing of her 17-year-old son, Darwin, during the Philippine Truth Commission\u2019s second hearing on August 27, 2026. The Truth Commission is an autonomous initiative led by members of civil society, formed to investigate and record incidents of drug-related killings and abuses that occurred during former President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s so-called \u201cwar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,73,58,59,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-war-on-drugs-en","category-aktuelles-en","category-human-rights-news","category-internal-affairs","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13995"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14054,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13995\/revisions\/14054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}