Reparations for drug war victims eyed

MANILA, Philippines — Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima will file a bill recognizing rights violations and providing reparations for victims of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.

In a chance interview with The STAR on Wednesday, De Lima confirmed her plan to file a measure similar to Republic Act 10368, or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, which covered rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship.

“There has to be justice, reparations, recognition of those egregious crimes and admissions or acknowledgement that those crimes happened,” she asserted.

De Lima underscored the importance of transitional justice to fully address human rights violations and violence during the drug war.

The lawmaker delivered the keynote speech during the book launch of the “Philippine Practices on Transitional Justice: Lessons Learned and Charting a Path Forward,” a publication produced by the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights.

In her speech, De Lima cited the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act and Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act of 2022 as examples of how the government can acknowledge past injustices and take concrete steps to uphold accountability.

As part of efforts to establish a system recognizing transitional justice, De Lima pushed for the creation of a permanent National Truth Archive that would document “abuses from martial law to the drug war.”

Families of victims will hold a press conference today to urge President Marcos to establish a truth commission on the drug war.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte is detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, charged with crimes against humanity.