Here’s how a truth commission will investigate Duterte’s war on drugs

Multisectoral groups, including the academe and the Church, launched the Philippine Truth Commission on Wednesday, May 27, to investigate and document drug war killings in the Philippines.

The Philippine Truth and Reconciliation Commission — or simply the Truth Commission — is civilian-led and independent from the Philippine government. This was launched nearly 10 years since former president Rodrigo Duterte waged his war on drugs that killed nearly 30,000 people, based on tallies of several human rights groups.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David, who helped victims Duterte’s war on drugs, sits as the commission’s adviser. Former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Raul Pangalangan, meanwhile, has been named as the body’s chairperson.

“The Truth Commission was created to ensure that the stories of victims, survivors, and families are heard, verified, and preserved. This is not about replacing the courts or assigning guilt. It is about building a credible truth record that can guide accountability, healing, reform, and the prevention of future violence,” Pangalangan said.

The former judge will be joined by the following experts as commissioners:

• Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun (Commissioner for Forensic Sciences and Independent Investigation)
• Dr. Al Fuertes (Commissioner for Psychosocial Support and Trauma Healing)
• Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario, CM (Commissioner for Church and Education, Truth Literacy, and Institutional Reform)
• Human rights journalist Carlos Conde (Commissioner for Public Documentation, Transparency, and Democratic Accountability)

According to the commission, the commissioners will approve policies and standards, organize hearings, and “adopt findings and reports, authorize referrals and recommendations” to concerned agencies and bodies.

David, meanwhile, said the commission’s funding will come from the sectors supporting their causes.

“We are encouraged to do this because there’s big support from the academe, civil society, church groups — not only Catholics, even non-Catholics, protestants — in this endeavor to reclaim our country’s dignity,” said the cardinal.

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What will the commission do?

David said the commission is not meant to replace the ICC, nor the local courts, as avenues to seek justice.

The Truth Commission will mainly talk to drug war survivors and their families to document their plight. It will conduct “Public Truth Hearings” where witnesses will share their experiences. This could either be public, semi-public, closed, or even anonymized to protect them.

“These hearings will be conducted under non-adversarial rules and survivor-centered safeguards, with the goal of documenting lived experiences, institutional patterns, historical context, and the social impacts of violence in a safe, dignified, and non-adversarial environment,” said the commission.

The hearings are also open to experts, media, academics, and to those who want to share what they know about the killings.

From the hearings, the commission will prepare reports and recommendations that will be sent to relevant agencies like the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Commission on Human Rights, to name a few.

“The Truth Commission is expected to submit periodic reports of its findings and recommendations every six months to appropriate bodies, including Napolcom, Congress, and the President, and to submit a final report at the end of its tenure. Reports will be made available to the public, subject to data privacy and confidentiality requirements,” said the body.

Work beyond documenting

Can the Truth Commission’s reports be used for international and local investigations into the drug war? Pangalangan said their documentation could be useful for these probes.

“If they find material in their testimony that can advance their own investigations, for me, that will be a most welcome development. But we are a truth commission and the prosecutorial function is, of course, governmental,” the commission chairperson said. “Our output, hopefully, will be useful for both national and international bodies who are involved in looking at the war crimes.”

Duterte is currently detained at The Hague, Netherlands over his three counts of crimes against humanity case. The counts were divided into three: killings when Duterte was Davao City mayor, killings of high-value targets, and barangay clearing operations.

According to the commission, they will probe the killings beyond the three charges.

“We are not limited to the charges there, because those charges pertain to the crimes attributed to the specific accused. That is not our focus. Now, to the extent that we uncover truths which are relevant to their work, and if they find it relevant, of course they are free to use that information, whether as direct, incriminating evidence, or maybe as background information,” Pangalangan said.

The former ICC judge also gave assurances they will assess the evidence carefully, “independently, and mutually.”

“It’s not like we’re inclined to believe only one side. We want to know what really happened,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fuertes said the commission also aims to remind the country and the world that the victims and survivors are not mere numbers.

“The central objective here, basically, is to bring dignity back to the victims of the drug war. And we will do that without jeopardizing the rights, of course, of who may be perpetrators and who may feel aggrieved by all of these proceedings,” said Fuertes. – Rappler.com