MANILA (UCAN): The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to establish a national body to investigate the thousands of killings committed during the bloody war on drugs waged by former president, Rodrigo Duterte, and to promote national reconciliation, CBCP News reported.
In a letter dated November 7, conference president, Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, asked Marcos to create a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The cardinal said that it would “restore dignity to victims’ families who continue to seek justice and closure,”
The proposed commission “would not seek vengeance but truth, accountability, and compassion,” and would help the nation “move forward with honesty and moral clarity.”
It could also provide victims and witnesses with a safe space, review unresolved cases, and recommend reparations, support, and institutional reforms to prevent future abuses.
“Truth-telling is not an act of reopening wounds—it is the only path by which wounds can finally heal,” Cardinal David wrote. “Silence breeds resentment and fear; truth restores dignity, trust, and moral coherence to our democracy.”
Silence breeds resentment and fear; truth restores dignity, trust, and moral coherence to our democracy
Human rights groups estimate that some 12,000-30,000 extrajudicial killings were carried out by police and vigilantes during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign [2016–2022]. Most victims were poor urban residents accused of drug-related crimes.
On March 11, Duterte was arrested by Interpol and transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity related to the drug war and his alleged leadership of the “Davao Death Squad” during his tenure as mayor of Davao City.
His lawyers and supporters have dismissed the arrest as politically motivated.
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Cardinal David said that creating the commission would send “a powerful message that the country chooses courage over fear, accountability over impunity, and reconciliation over silence.”
The cardinal said, “It would reaffirm a principle that lies at the heart of our democracy and faith traditions—that every human life has dignity and worth.”
The cardinal is the bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, which is described as “ground zero” of the drug war killings. He said he continues to meet widowed mothers and orphaned children traumatised by the violence.
Many families, the cardinal noted, have lost not only loved ones but also trust in public institutions, their sense of safety, and their livelihoods.
“They deserve closure. Our institutions deserve restoration. Our nation needs healing,” Cardinal David stressed.
