Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Multisectoral groups picket outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City, calling for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on May 21, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Arrest Duterte

Kaxandra Salonga

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174175909848820240521-ejk-duterte-arrest-protest-MD-2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Multisectoral groups picket outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City, calling for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on May 21, 2024. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — In Navotas, a group of candlemakers bound by tragedy found solace in their craft after losing loved ones to the government&#x27;s drug war.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/11/wife-of-ejk-victim-reacts-to-dutertes-arrest-siya-inaresto-yung-asawa-ko-binaril-2315">&#x27;Buti pa siya inaresto, yung asawa ko binaril agad&#x27;: Wife of EJK victim on Duterte&#x27;s arrest</a> </div><p>Since joining the Silingan Candlemakers in March 2024, Joel Ejorcadas, 36, said the group has become a source of light in the darkest chapter of his life. His brother, Jomel, was shot dead in August 2016 after being wrongly accused of using and selling illegal drugs.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/war-on-drugs/part4">&#x27;Oplan Tokhang’: From tagging to killing</a></div><p>“Nung time na dumating sa amin yung unos na war on drugs, napakadilim po ng pinagdaanan po namin. Wala kaming malapitan, wala kaming pwedeng maging kakampi nung time na ‘yun,” said Ejorcadas. </p><p>(When the deluge from the war on drugs reached us, we went through a very dark time. We had nobody to run to, nobody stood with is back then)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/kitty-asks-sc-help-to-bring-father-rodrigo-duterte-back-to-ph-1102">Kitty asks Supreme Court help to bring father Rodrigo Duterte back to PH</a></div><p>His brother once dreamed of fixing up their home, but after his death, that responsibility fell on Ejorcadas. </p><p>Through his work with Silingan, he was able to make it happen. </p><p>The community was founded by Redemptorist Brother Jun Santiago, who also launched a small coffee shop under the same name to support the livelihood of EJK victims&#x27; families. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1899698019798536254&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-03-12T05%3A25%3A43.117431%3Ac049f625-53b5-4f27-8223-6ddf3a314717%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=0278c3246851453e71af1a985efb33acd4419654&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:696px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1899698019798536254"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Their daily earnings of P900 to P1,200 from candle sales help them get by after losing their families’ providers. But aside from financial survival, Silingan has given them something just as important—a sense of community. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/plane-carrying-ex-president-rodrigo-duterte-arrives-in-dubai-0811">Plane carrying ex-president Rodrigo Duterte arrives in Dubai</a></div><p>True to its name, which means “neighbor” in Bisaya, the group has become a source of emotional support for its members. </p><p>“During war on drugs, pag nakaburol yung biktima namin na produkto ng tokhang ay walang nakikipaglamay na kapitbahay dahil natatakot sila na madamay,” said community leader Mildred Ocampo.</p><p>(During the war on drugs, when someone died due to tokhang, people stayed away from the wake because they didn&#x27;t want to be next)</p><p>Tokhang refers to the government&#x27;s campaign of visiting houses of alleged drug personalities and convincing them to enter rahbilitation programs. It has since come to be used for extrajudicial killings from that period. </p><p>Through Silingan, she no longer mourned her brother in isolation. She found a community that shared her grief and stood with her in the fight for justice. </p><div><strong>&#x27;DUTERTE&#x27;S ARREST GAVE US HOPE&#x27;</strong></div><p>That justice seemed out of reach, until March 11, when former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/11/rodrigo-duterte-and-icc-from-years-long-probe-to-unexpected-arrest-1927">Rodrigo Duterte and ICC: From years-long probe to &#x27;unexpected&#x27; arrest</a></div><p>For Jonalyn Tenso, whose husband was gunned down on Christmas eve of 2019, Duterte’s arrest proved that justice isn’t reserved for the privileged few. </p><p>“Nung hinuli po si Duterte parang kinilabutan kami… parang sumigla kami, na meron pala kaming kakampi. Kasi po kung magsasampa ka ng kaso, hindi agad-agad maisasampa kasi wala ka ngang pera tapos… yung gagastusin ipapakain mo na lang sa pamilya mo. Kaya ginawa ko nanahimik na lang ako,” said Tenso.</p><p>(We felt chills but we also felt we were no longer alone. We could not file cases because you need monry for that. What we would have spent, we just used for food for the family)</p><p>Ocampo acknowledged the arrest as a milestone but said it also reignited online attacks from Duterte loyalists. She lambasted Duterte supporters who insist his arrest was unlawful. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/palace-defends-duterte-arrest-to-help-serve-more-icc-arrest-warrants-1249">Palace defends Duterte arrest, to help serve more ICC arrest warrants</a></div><p>“Yung hinihingi nilang due process ngayon, ang question namin, bakit kami, binigyan niyo ba kami ng due process? Hindi rin ba unfair samin yung ginawa nila na wala rin naman warrant of arrest? Bakit nila pinatay yung mga mahal namin sa buhay?” Ocampo said.</p><p>(They are calling for due process now, but we didn&#x27;t get that. Isn&#x27;t it unfair that they did that to us, they didn&#x27;t have warrants either. Why did they kill our loved ones?)</p><p>Meanwhile, Duterte’s arrest gives Ejorcadas hope that justice is within reach, but says the battle is far from over.</p><p>“Siguro masaya na rin yung kapatid ko kung nakikita man niya yung nangyayari ngayon… &#x27;tol magkakaron na ng hustisya, magkakaron na yung resulta yung pagod at laban na pinagpuyatan namin&#x27;,” he added.</p><p>(I suppose my brother is happy about what is happening. There will be justice. Our refforts in this struggle will bear fruit)</p><p>Duterte, 79, was arrested by police officers on Tuesday morning, acting on a warrant from the International Criminal Court over his war on drugs, shortly after he arrived in the Philippines from Hong Kong.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GyPufM5eslM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>While Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest gave them hope that justice is within reach, they said the battle is far from over.</p>

While Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest gave them hope that justice is within reach, they said the battle is far from over.

'Kinilabutan kami': Families of EJK victims react to Duterte’s arrest

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'Kinilabutan kami': Families of EJK victims react to Duterte’s arrest

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 12, 2025 03:31 PM PHT

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ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

EJK

Duterte

Arrest

war on drugs

tokhang

crime

crimes against humanity

International Criminal Court

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