THE BEDAN ADVOCACY and Consciousness Enhancement Society (BACES) held a two-day event from February 23 to 24 in remembrance of the victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, coinciding with the confirmation of charges against the Bedan alumnus before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Through commemoration and artistic expression which seek to raise awareness, the two-day event featured a meaningful dialogue, honoring the victims of EJK as their fight and pursuit of justice continued.
Lakbay Museo ng Paghilom
The event began with Fr. Flaviano “Flavie” Antonio L. Villanueva, SVD, founder of Project Paghilom, explaining that the purpose of Lakbay Museo ng Paghilom is to remember how the lives of the poor were placed in jeopardy during the time of the bloody “War on Drugs” in the regime of then President.
“It is not about death but it is about life. It is not only about war on drugs but is the war of the poor. It’s about the poor murdered and not about how they were accused of nanlaban,” he stated.
He also added that this museum aims to break the stigma against EJK victims.
“Maraming naninindigan na sila ay nanlaban. Maraming nagsasabi na sila ay dapat patayin. Madami pang nagsasabi na pano na yung mga biktima nung mga adik na pinatay. Whereas hindi naman lahat adik, hindi naman nanlaban, hindi naman nagbebenta ng droga,” he said Fr. Villanueva.
This notion was reflected in an opening speech made by Reuben De Leon, the incumbent BACES President, stating that, “Kapag ang karahasan ay naging pangkaraniwan, may unti-unting namamatay sa loob ng isang bansa,” adding, “Kapag ang numero ay pumalit sa pangalan, ang patay ay namamatay muli sa katahimikan, sa pagkalimot.”’
The mobile museum consisted of educational posters of EJK, a huge painting that showed the face of the victims, and some sacred artifacts belonging to said victims, with one notably belonging to the youngest EJK victim, three-year old Myca Ulpina, who died in a police operation at Rizal.
In an interview with The Bedan, Fr. Villanueva stated that these artifacts serve as a story of the lived experiences of the victims.
“I hope that they learn that each artifact is a sacred remembrance of a story, not statistics. Each artifact resembles and depicts a story of a human person na pinatay. And most especially, that story is sacred. May pamilya, may kwento, at sagrado ang kwento nya,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Raquel Barros del-Rosario Fortun, the first Filipino woman forensic pathologist in the Philippines, who also conducted the autopsies of the EJK victims, said that investigation was difficult since there were some who were afraid to call out authorities for accountability.
“Umaatras kasi ‘Ay, matatamaan si ganito. Ay, huwag na lang.’ Hindi pwede ‘yan. Dapat mag-shift din tayo to really serious accountability. Kasi kung wala, that’s impunity and this is what’s happening,” she said.
Echoing the same sentiments, Elizabeth Campo, widow of Rolando Campo, an EJK victim, described the feeling of losing a husband.
“Kung isipin mo, ilang taon nagdudusa pa rin kami. Tulad ko, wala na akong pamilya, wala na akong katuwing sa buhay. Siya lang ang katuwang ko,” she said.
Campo emphasized her hope that the public would take their sentiments and call for justice seriously rather than treat them as a laughingstock, urging greater discernment.
Project Paghilom aims to create and empower the lives of EJK victims and their families through a seven phase intervention program: vetting and needs analysis, psycho-spiritual intervention, legal assistance, educational assistance for orphans, livelihood and loan package, capacity building, guidance, and monitoring, and project arise which funds for the exhumation, cremation, and final inurnment of victims.
Teatro ng Paghilom
The second day of Lakbay Museo ng Paghilom deepened the call for remembrance and the family of the victims’ long and arduous cry for justice and accountability, beginning with Teatro ng Paghilom, a theatrical performance staged by family members of EJK victims themselves.
Unlike traditional plays, the production was rooted in lived experience. Through monologues, reenactments, and symbolic scenes, the performers portrayed their trauma of witnessing the unjust killings of their loved ones and the continuing struggle for justice.
Furthermore, scenes portrayed how violence became normalized in public discourse, how statistics replaced names and how it robbed victims and their families of their dignity, and how fear silenced many communities.
In one powerful segment, actors echoed common justifications used to defend the campaign, only to counter them with personal narratives that revealed the human cost behind such rhetoric.
By juxtaposing political soundbites with the voices of the bereaved, the performance challenged the audience to reflect on complicity, indifference, and the fragility of truth.
“Conscience is not shaped by outrage”, Fr. Flavie later reflected in his remarks, alluding to the performance’s quiet intensity. “We all saw that in the performance of our Teatro ng Paghilom. Walang sigaw. Walang maingay… walang ingay na walang saysay.”
Following the play was an afternoon session entitled, “Kahit Mag-isa: Leadership Against the Grain,” a segment dedicated to understanding and forming accountable leaders of tomorrow and empowerment in a wounded society
The talk featured Founder of Justitia Lab Ms. Arvhie Santos; Chairperson of Panday Sining UST Raven Racelis; Municipal Councilor of Taytay, Rizal Mr. Tobit Cruz; and Global Operations Director and Country Head at Conexus Medstaff Mr. Lauro Delas Llagas.
The discussion underscored the courage required to stand for truth even when doing so means standing alone, expounding Fr. Flavie’s earlier remarks.
“Moral leadership in a wounded society is not the loud assertion of certainty but the disciplined practice of conscience formed by truth grounded in dignity and expressed beautifully, creatively through care,” he said.
(With Nicko Gabriel Dela Vega)