Philippines: Drug war victim receives shred of justice

At 51 years old, Mary Ann Domingo has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of graduating from high school. However, she wishes her son, Gabriel, and husband, Luis, could have attended her graduation.

Past midnight on September 15, 2016, a group of 15 to 20 men, some police in uniform, and others in plain clothes wearing masks, burst into Domingo's home for what they claimed was a drug bust operation.

It was the height of the Philippines' anti-drug campaign administered by former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Luis was their target.

Domingo said she and her children were dragged out into the street. But Gabriel, 19, refused to leave his father. The police shot and killed them both, claiming that the two men had resisted arrest.

In June, four policemen involved in the incident were convicted of homicide by a court in Caloocan City, north of Manila. However, filing a case against the police for allegedly killing her husband and son came at a heavy price.

For eight years, Domingo and her family have been constantly moving from threats as part of an informal witness protection program loosely organized by religious groups and human rights organizations.

"We were exhausted," said Domingo, adding that, as witnesses to the killing, she and her family felt unsafe and fled their home.

The scale of the drug-related killings left religious organizations scrambling to provide sanctuary for the dozens of families of those killed.

"They were all so scared. They did not know where they could go or who they could trust. They just knew that they had to run," Jun Santiago, a Redemptorist Brother at the Baclaran Church, told DW.

Years searching for justice

Kristina Conti, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), has been Domingo's lawyer since 2018. She told DW how Domingo turned her grief into challenging the authorities.

"It was groundbreaking for the family of those killed to sue the police. When we filed the case, there was a small shred of hope," Conti said. She added that despite occasionally doubts whether the case would move forward, Domingo "never wavered in her fight for justice."

Conti said officials tried to cover up police responsibility in the drug war killings. 

"We expected a cover-up and encountered it in many ways: incomplete evidence, withheld documents, a shoddy investigation into the legitimacy of the police operations," she said.

Domingo's witness testimony was their strongest piece of evidence. To bolster her testimony, the bodies of Gabriel and Luis were exhumed for a post-mortem autopsy to determine the cause of death. The findings of the Philippines premiere forensic pathologist, Dr. Raquel Fortun, revealed that the men sustained multiple gunshots indicating an intent to kill.  

Santiago was with Domingo during the exhumation and forensic autopsy.

With gloved hands, Domingo gently cradled Gabriel's head, folding the edges of the body bag around him as if it were a blanket. The necktie that she had bought for him before he was killed was now black and dusty.  

The day before he died, Domingo bought her son a necktie to wear at his new catering job. It meant no more chasing temporary jobs for scraps of money just to get by. Gabriel never got to wear the necktie to work. Instead, he wore it for his own funeral.

"The forensic autopsy was necessary to gather more evidence, but it was incredibly traumatizing for Mary Ann to see her son and husband like that," said Santiago.  

Looking ahead to the future

On her graduation day, Domingo was surrounded by her family. Eight years ago, they had consoled each other when Gabriel and Luis were buried. 

Now, Domingo's daughter, Alexa, has graduated from college with honors and recently passed a teacher's license exam. Gabriel's son, Gab, is 8 years old and looking more and more like his father. "Gabriel would have been so proud of me. He wanted this so much for me," Mary Ann Domingo said.

Years ago, Domingo had decided to pursue a high school education at Gabriel's prodding. She had joined her son in an alternative learning program.

"We sat next to each other in class. He was always showing me off to his friends, saying: 'Look at my momma, so determined to get an education.' He could have been on that stage with me. We could have been sharing this moment together," said Domingo. 

Domingo plans to get a degree in community development and become a social worker. She also plans to pursue a case against the other men implicated in the killing of her husband and son.

"They are no longer with us, but their dreams stay with us. Their dreams will carry us forward," said Domingo. 

Edited by: Wesley Rahn