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Victims Move Forward from the Philippine Drug War (Webinar)

Online event presented by Program Paghilom, StoptheDrugWar.org, and the International Center for Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma

Monday April 15 2024, 9:00pm ET | Tuesday April 16, 9:00am PHT

As Mayor of Davao City and then President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte orchestrated a campaign of widespread extrajudicial killings in the Philippine drug war. Now the subject of an investigation by the International Criminal Court, the Duterte drug war according to the government has claimed more than 6,000 lives, while NGOs believe the true number is upwards of 30,000. Since late during the Duterte presidency and continuing under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., drug war killings reported by media outlets in the Philippines have continued at a rate of about one per day.

Adding to the the suffering of victims/survivors, burial plots rented by the government have expiration dates, leading to cremations when families can’t pay or sometimes without their knowledge. In addition to the indignity, this is also a potential evidentiary issue for the ICC. The AJ Kalinga Foundation’s Program Paghilom helps families make arrangements for their loved ones’ remains, with ritual to provide closure, and conducts forensic examinations, as part of a support framework that includes education, legal support and other basic needs. Note that this video, solely for educational purposes, includes some images from the Duterte drug war that could be upsetting. Speakers:

  • David Borden, Executive Director, StoptheDrugWar.org (intro and moderation)
  • Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Founder and President, AJ Kalinga Foundation
  • Dr. Yael Danieli, Founder and Executive Director, International Center for Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma (ICMGLT)
  • Gang Badoy Capati, Founder and Executive Director, Rock Ed Philippines and head of its Project Steady Asia

Fr. Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva is a missionary priest of the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) who founded the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center. Subsequent to speaking on our event, in 2025 he received the prestigious Ramon Magsayay Award (also known as “The Nobel Prize of Asia”) for the Center’s Program Paghilom supporting victims of the Duterte drug war.

Dr. Yael Danieli is a clinical psychologist, psychohistorian, victimologist and traumatologist, who created the first program to help Nazi Holocaust survivors and their children, pioneered the field of trauma, and who is Founder and Executive director of the International Center for Multi-Generational Legacies of Trauma.

Gang Badoy Capati is the founder of Rock Ed Philippines and Project: Steady Asia, and is a trauma therapist and trained media literacy instructor with a background in media, documentary filmmaking, education and publishing. For further event info or assistance, email borden@drcnet.org or call +1 202-236-8620.

For more information about StoptheDrugWar.org’s international programs, visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/global and https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines. Visit Program Paghilom at https://ajkalingafoundation.org/progr… and ICMGLT at https://icmglt.org/. Visit Project: STEADY Asia at https://projectsteadyasia.org.