"It seems only the rich have the means to attain (justice)." Thousands of families who were victim to former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war are still waiting for justice, eight years on. Some hope the arrest of Duterte by the ICC means they will get their day in court, while others say the extrajudicial killings carried out on his orders made their lives safer.
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00:00Every day, Grandmother Purisima Dacumos tidies this room in a poor Manila neighborhood for her family of 12.
00:12This has been her home for 35 years.
00:16With nowhere else to go, she stayed even after police killed her husband here eight years ago.
00:30Her husband, Danilo, a construction worker, was one of thousands of people, mostly from impoverished areas, killed without trial in a war on drugs waged by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
00:54Now, Dacumos could finally get her day in court.
00:59Not here in the Philippines, but at the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, which tries crimes of international concern.
01:10Duterte is now in ICC custody, accused of crimes against humanity.
01:17The former president, unwavering and resolute, even in the face of his arrest.
01:24At sinasabi ko naman sa mga polis, military, na trawaho kayo, at ako ang managot.
01:36So ito na nga.
01:36During his six years in power to 2022, Duterte said slaughtering drug dealers and users was necessary to save the Philippines.
01:49Former President Duterte still has widespread support among many in the Philippines who say he made them feel safer.
01:56In neighborhoods like this one, residents say drug dealing was a visible problem here, but that the crime rate went down during his time in power.
02:07Many here say they wish Duterte was still in charge.
02:10We're very safe noong the 30th time kasi, diba, makakatulog ka ng mahimbing, walang mga magnanakaw.
02:21Sa drugs po, mas lumala. Mas lumala ngayon, unlike noong kay Tatay Digong pag sinabing, may kasalanan yan, drug addict yan, patay nyo.
02:30Ngayon po, parang drug addict yan, oh sige, mabuhay lang kayong payapa.
02:34But the current government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says the crime rate has fallen.
02:41He's also cracking down on drug use, but unlike his predecessor, the focus is on securing convictions and not killing suspects.
02:51That's a clear difference from Duterte's drug war.
02:54Activists say up to 30,000 people were killed, but only four cases are known to have led to convictions,
03:02including that of Mary Ann Domingo.
03:06A court found four low-ranking police officers guilty of homicide for the killings of her husband and son.
03:14Those officers are out on bail as they appeal their convictions.
03:18Dito, dito parang pakiramdam ko eh, hindi ko maabot ang hostesya hanggang papel na lang ba.
03:26Kasi dito alus ang mga, ang madaling makakuha ng hostesya, yung mga mayyaman lang, pero yung mga mahirap.
03:37Parang ang hirap-hirap namin abutin ang hostesya.
03:39Domingo hopes Duterte's arrest means justice is closer, but she feels sadness that she and other families have to seek it in another country,
03:50far from the homes that have been forever tainted by the killings of their loved ones.
03:57Luffy Lee, Joseph Wu, David Santos and Louise Watt in Manila for Taiwan Plus.
04:03Luffy Lee, Joseph Wu, David Santos and Louise Watt in Manila for Taiwan,