FDS Insight Magazine Aug - Oct 2022

38 He says he spends most of his days under the bridge, but goes to his home every once in a while. Addiction has spread throughout his family, he says. When I express surprise that the area under the bridge has filled up again, Nazir smiles. ‘It’s normal,’ he says. ‘Every day, they become more and more … It never ends.’ abc.net.au (24/7/22) Philippines W HAT HAPPENS TO THE DRUG WAR UNDER F ERDINAND M ARCOS J R ? uman rights groups and grieving families who have lost their loved ones in the bloody campaign against drugs fear that the same violence will continue and justice will elude them under Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency. Marcos Jr. has said that he is not in favour of an ICC investigation into the deadly anti-drug campaign under his predecessor ‘We are so afraid that blood will continue to spill and it will be the same hell under Marcos Jr.,’ said Cristina, who asked that only her first name be used for fear of repercussions. Cristina told DW that she has lost three of her sons in violence related to the deadly ‘war on drugs’ that former President Rodrigo Duterte launched in 2016. Anthony was found dead in 2017, his head wrapped in packaging tape and a gunshot to his temple. Police said he was in possession of drugs. Jay-Ar was killed in 2019 in a police buy-bust operation. Andy was shot dead by what witnesses describe as six masked assailants days before Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn in as president last month. Andy was released from detention on May 21, after pleading guilty to drug charges in exchange for an early release. ‘I’m so sure that his release made him a marked target. I wish he had just stayed in detention. Maybe he would still be alive,’ Cristina said. ‘I hope for justice for my sons, but how can I expect that with Marcos Jr. as president and Duterte’s daughter as vice president?’ she added. In the run-up to the 2022 presidential elections, Marcos Jr. – the son and namesake of the former dictator who ruled the Philippines from 1965 to 1986 – formed a political alliance with Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Duterte. The two scored landslide victories, with overwhelming margins not seen in decades. H