las victims of the anti-drug crusade Filipinos They couldn’t find peace in the cemetery either.. Since their relatives do not have the income to extend the rent, the corpses of the graves are exhumed after the lease period expires. It’s not a delicate process: tombstones are broken with hammers and the remains are placed in bags to be thrown into the mass grave or in any secluded corner.
is he The final and predictable impact of Rodrigo Duterte’s most mediatic campaign. No one can accuse the president of not fulfilling his election promises: he said he would eliminate drug addicts, and he worked hard for it. Official figures mention 7,000 drug addicts and drug dealers killed by the police and human rights organizations. There are more than 30,000 drug addicts. The turmoil intensified in the first year, with an average of 35 deaths per day. Those who were expelled from their graves are now those who fell into that first wave.
The dead are concentrated in the suburbs of the Manila metropolitan belt, such as Nabotas or Caloocan. A walk reveals a painful poverty. Wooden huts, swamps where half-naked children, chickens and malnourished dogs were squeezing, no water was drained, electrical connections intact. if you are poor you will dieAmnesty International took the title of its report on Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. The tableau explains the drama: It costs a thousand pesos, around 17 euros a year, to rent these modest cabins piled on concrete blocks, which is a lot for those who can barely fill a bowl of rice. The average salary in the Philippines does not reach 270 euros, and the pandemic has made the poor fat. Also, the deceased was, in many cases, the main breadwinner of the family.
space shortage
The alternatives are, five years later, a corpse the size of a shoebox or a common grave.. Many relatives have seen their tombstones crushed before making a choice, as space shortages in the Manila metropolitan area’s cemeteries are pushing the frantic turnover of tenants. Father Flavie Villanueva, a stubborn scourge of Duterte, gives relatives a more dignified exit. Since last year when expiration times began, she has been organizing exhumations and cremations so that relatives have a jar to keep at home. Not much and not in the Philippine tradition, but it does heal the anonymous pile of bones.
Philippine cemeteries highlight social inequalities. Just a few dozen meters separate the intact family cellars from these pedestrian niches, sometimes with the deceased’s name written in ink. Cardboard, beer cans, and the remaining waste document a deterioration nuanced by the bright colors of the concrete blocks on which the most modest tombs were pressed.
In addition, children running around and playing give a festive atmosphere. The Nabotas cemetery, one of the areas hit hardest by the anti-drug campaign, was like the scene of a Berlangui tragicomedy years ago. The youths stretched a net between the graves to make an impromptu volleyball court, and they often complained that funeral rites interrupted their play. “We don’t have parks, where would you like us to play?” they asked. Emong Ramos, on the other hand, welcomed the frenzy. Contractor with 40 years of experience charges on demand. “I’ve never worked this hard,” he told a reporter. He explained to the Hong Kong newspaper these days South China Moning Post About 300 bags of derelict remains are scattered around the cemetery.
old tradition
Funerals are no trivial matter in Asia’s most Catholic country. In this whirlwind of stories about dramatic losses, the biggest regrets were towards the funeral expenses. It is customary for neighbors to play bingo, which is organized by the family to raise money. The corpse, which was injected with formaldehyde so that it can last for a month in the open air, is buried only when the amount is met. It is not unusual for the police to intervene a few weeks later to close the bingo and order the burial. It is common for families to visit the cemetery after 9 days, 40 days, and on the anniversaries of the deceased. Against all this ancient tradition, the current vulgar exhumations strike..
The International Criminal Court, headquartered in The Hague, is investigating whether crimes against humanity were committed in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. There are doubts about his jurisdiction: Duterte called the allegations “stupid” and reminded that he has not been a member of the court since the country withdrew in 2019. However, for judges, excesses committed before that date may be prosecuted. . Duterte, who will step down in the coming months after running out of office, does not seem to worry about the issue.