Caparas, Vince (HR)

Hustisya at Bala: A Case Analysis of the Extrajudicial
Killings in the Philippines
In Partial fulfillment for the subject

Human Rights (Including Women’s Rights)
HR 405
Submitted by:
Vince A. Caparas
BS Legal Management – 4A
Submitted to:
Prof. Ghenalynne DJ. Santos, LPT, JD

Instructor
THE GENESIS
Life is the most precious gift given from the above, and to be able to see the
beauty of this world is priceless – that even the accumulation of the world’s treasures
cannot suffice to its value. Thus, right to life is the most sacred and highest inherent
right acquired by any person – this means that no one, not even the state, can take
away someone’s life for whatever reasons it may be.
However, because of the nature of man to get through in life’s survival of the
fittest, some actions that can hurt or even end someone’s existence became a peculiar
pursuit. With this, laws had been made to uphold and promote the sanctity of life,
and established provisions that will ensure the welfare of mankind.
In the status quo of the Philippines, during the regime of the former
Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, numerous reports of human rights
violation, particularly cases about extrajudicial killings, had been documented in the
midst of his “war on drugs” – a perilous effort to battle the long-time predicament of
illegal drugs in the Country. Due to that, such activity became subject of local and
even international discussions that led to global matter.
In light to this paper, this aims to give an analysis on the reported cases of
extrajudicial killings in the Philippines through the documented occurrences
happened in the country.
EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS
According to OMCT, an International human rights group with 200-member

organization states that Extrajudicial killings, also known as extrajudicial executions,
occur when someone in a position of authority kills anybody without due process.
In relation to this, the past Duterte administration's drug war started from
2016 and furtherly intensified in 2018 covering numerous areas in the country, but
prominently in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite.
According to the report of Human Rights Watch, from July 1, 2016 to

September 30, 2018, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that
4,948 alleged drug users and traffickers were killed during police operations. This,
however, does not include the thousands of other people slain by unidentified
gunmen. Thus, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP), 22,983 of such
fatalities have been classed as "homicides under investigation" since the "war on
drugs" began.
On the same direction, the Amnesty International’s investigation entitled “If

you are poor you are killed”: Extrajudicial Executions in the Philippines’ “War on
Drugs”, it details how the police have systematically targeted mostly poor and
defenseless people across the country while planting evidence, recruiting paid killers,
stealing from the people they killed and fabricating official incident reports. This
assertion had been supported by the data provided by the Amnesty International as
well as the claim of the victims or relatives of the victims who experience such in
firsthand.
In relation to this, one of the most prominent case that happened in the
Philippines in relation to extrajudicial killings is the case of Kian Delos Santos, 17,
who was fatally shot by police officers conducting drug raid operations. The police
officers therein stated that Kian is a drug pusher/user and try to combat them during
their drug operations. However, the said report differs from the testimony of the
witnesses and the evidence from the acquired CCTV footage. After thorough
investigation, the court found the Police Officers guilty for killing Kian.
The story of Kian is just a pinch of the whole cases in relation to extrajudicial
killings in the Philippines and there is still a lot of reports in connection thereto.
APPLICABLE LAW
The Philippine authorities are obligated by international and local duties that,
among other things, defend all people's right to life, their right to a fair trial, and
their right to the best health possible. The Philippines is a signatory to a number of
human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), which forbids arbitrary deprivation of life and ensures the right to a
fair trial. Philippines is also a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which safeguards the right to the best health
possible.
Hence, even the highest law of the land, the 1987 Philippine Constitution,
states in Article 3, Section 1 thereof that “No person shall be deprived of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be
denied the equal protection of the law”.
There is no explicit legislation in the Philippines that criminalizes

"extrajudicial" or "extra-legal" execution. Any perpetrator of an extrajudicial
execution, including law enforcement officers, falls under the category of the Revised
Penal Code on murder and homicide. Thus, according to Supreme Court of the
Philippines’ rule, a specific remedy known as a petition for writ of amparo is
available to "any person whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated or
threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or
employee, or of a private individual or entity” and can explicitly applies to
extrajudicial exclusion.

Caparas, Vince (HR)

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Caparas, Vince (HR)

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Hustisya at Bala: A Case Analysis of the Extrajudicial

Killings in the Philippines

In Partial fulfillment for the subject

Prof. Ghenalynne DJ. Santos, LPT, JD

According to OMCT, an International human rights group with 200-member

According to the report of Human Rights Watch, from July 1, 2016 to

On the same direction, the Amnesty International’s investigation entitled “If

There is no explicit legislation in the Philippines that criminalizes

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