The tide has indeed changed. That became clear to me when I met the women who, for 10 years now, have borne the burden of fighting for justice in Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
The last time I saw Mary Ann Domingo was November 2024 in the House of Representatives. He told me he felt like a total failure. The child of Mary Ann Gabriel and common law husband Luis Bonifacio were was killed by the police in Caloocan City in 2016. Four policemen were to be judged for the lesser crime of murder, and his case may be one of the last cases to find a conviction in the country.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte had just faced a committee of the House of Representatives that day. It was a surprise appearance in many respects, as he had never clearly confirmed that he would show up. The MPs were only relying on information from his lawyers that the former president was a joker to deal with the exciting “quad comm”.
In contrast, Mary Ann had gone to Batasan diligently for several months. He and many other relatives of the victims used to go and stay for hours at the People’s Center. For several days, they did not get a chance to speak or be recognized.
Yet there was Duterte, who was no longer president, entering the People’s Center as his own. In that session, he and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV almost got into a brawl. It was a show. Duterte admitted, once again, to teaching soldiers how to incite suspects to fight. Mary Ann, at one point, ran to the bathroom and cried.
“In CR, I was crying, I remembered my father and my son as I wanted to apologize to them that this is all we can do,” He said at the time.
(I cried in the toilet, thinking of my husband and my son. I wanted to apologize to them that this was all we could do for them.)
“Is this fair?” Mary Ann said. (Is this how we could get justice?
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, when the International Criminal Court (ICC) appealed to the chamber. confirmed that it has jurisdiction over Duterte’s caseI couldn’t see Mary Ann right away. He was wearing a mask because he still felt nervous being on camera.
Then I saw him in the corner. He also saw me. We caught up. I asked him if I could interview him, off camera, and he agreed.
I told him he is now at peace, unlike the last time I saw him.
“Perhaps it is thanks to hear that this is justice. Despite the fact that in our Philippine system it is difficult to get justice,” He said.
(Maybe it’s because – and I’m grateful to hear this – that there really is justice. This is despite the Philippine system where justice is not available.)
“I am one of those who will prove that justice is hard to come by,” He said, remembering that guilt came only in 2024or eight years after the murder of her husband and son. (I’m proof of how hard it is to get justice here.)
Duterte’s supporters are scoffing at having a foreign court judge who is a Filipino citizen. Try it at home, they say. But no one knows more than Mary Ann’s loved ones how much they tried, and how much they themselves have lost trying to build a strong system while also just trying to survive, despite the loss of service providers – husbands and sons and fathers who were killed.
We all hate that we have to get justice from a foreign court. We would all prefer to do this at home. But the house was not good for them. Home is where they are abused, ridiculed, and threatened.
Now that the case is at the ICC, Mary Ann said she feels hopeful. “Lots of hope. So we thank the ICC.” (I feel great hope. That is why we are so grateful to the ICC.)
I could see Mary Ann because she stayed behind, waiting for Nanette Castillo to go home together. Nanette’s son Aldrin was killed by masked security guards in 2017. Nanette has been killed. face of this movement since Aldrin was killed. It’s like I saw him grow up.
Sometimes I see Nanette A neighborhood restaurant in Cubaowhere he works with other victims. The cafe was set up to provide sustenance for those who lost loved ones during the drug war.
He told me stories about his family, about Aldrin’s sister and her children missing their uncle. How painful each scene is – because they are happy in the moment, then at the end of the day they realize that Aldrin is gone.
Mary Ann told me she had some pain in her stomach, finding it difficult to live without her boyfriend and her son.
They could ask me how I was, and I always didn’t want to answer. Everything I go through in my life will sound so small compared to them. But I’m answering anyway, because it’s only fair to share parts of my life when these women have been sharing their private parts with me all these years.
On Thursday, April 23, as I was about to close my laptop, with stories to follow from the previous day’s major ICC decision upholding jurisdiction over the Duterte case, I saw a message on WhatsApp. The pre-trial chamber had just vacated its decision. All payments are verified. Duterte will be heard.
I had time to open my Facebook Messenger and send a message to someone who always asks me for updates on the ICC case. His name is Randy delos Santos, uncle of Kian delos Santos17 years old the boy whose murder caused an uproar in 2017. I told him the news. “Justice is coming,” he told me.
There was one incident in 2025 where I saw Kuya Randy. I told him that, in all these years, I have never once felt guilty about our intrusion into their lives. They didn’t have to do this. They would be better, more peaceful, living their lives without the media, which exposes them to the eyes of unbelievers.
Still, we’ve been at it for 10 long years.
And all we ever had in common was the belief that stories, if you keep telling them truthfully and powerfully, can change history.
Purisima Dacumos was initially reluctant to be interviewed. Why are you ready now, I asked him?
“I’m not afraid now. It’s a war of many,” He said. (I’m not afraid anymore. This has now become a fight for many people.) – Rappler.com
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