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Senate hearing bares ‘nanlaban’ narrative

By: Baby Cuevas

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on October 28, 2024, finally cracked open the reality behind the ‘nanlaban’ narrative, long used to justify the violence of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

But what dropped jaws was that Duterte himself confirmed it. He ordered the police to “encourage criminals to fight,to draw their guns.” Yes, you heard it. This wasn’t law enforcement, it was baiting people to die, a twisted invitation to violence.

Senator Risa Hontiveros didn’t hesitate to voice the collective anger in the room. She condemned his mindset as wrong, immoral and utterly illegal, calling him out for what can only be described as a profoundly twisted view on justice. And what did Duterte do? He brushed her off with a casual, “Well, that’s your view; this is my view,” like he was discussing weekend plans, not the lives of tens of thousands. Tens of thousands of lives lost without due process, yet he stands by his belief that the murders were “legal” because he believes them so. Clearly, his inner circle lacked a moral compass that could have countered the blind brutality shaping his infamous drug war.


Hontiveros pressed further, demanding answers behind Duterte’s eyebrow-raising policies and reminding him of his own words in 2020 and 2021, when he claimed “responsibility” for the drug war’s fatalities. But the moment she named victims like Kian delos Santos, Duterte deflected with the refrain, “Guilt is personal!He didn’t pull the trigger himself, so somehow that means he’s blameless.

This hearing could not have been a walk in the park for Duterte. He wasn’t facing his usual band of yes-men, but people dead set on making him accountable.

Duterte dropped bombshell after bombshell, each admission as damning as the last. Even his loyal ally, Senator Bato dela Rosa, was dragged into the revelations. Duterte disclosed that Bato was a member of the Davao Death Squad, despite Bato’s earlier denials.

Tying up Duterte’s admissions in the Senate hearing with the findings of the Quad Committee from its ongoing investigations on EJKs paints the full picture of the policies during Duterte’s time. It paints a picture of an anti-drug campaign grounded not in robust legal or ethical frameworks but in the flimsy, tiresome ‘nanlaban’ narrative.


Do some people “need killing?” For Duterte, the answer was a resounding yes. This wasn’t just any confession; it was a shocking endorsement of a mindset that treats EJKs as necessary, even noble – the idea that, for the “good of society,” certain lives can be sacrificed.

Tags: BABY GARCIA-CUEVAS, insight

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