Grace Garganta (Photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — Women losing their men to the drug war has become a common narrative in the last few years in the Philippines, but Grace Garganta did not just lose one person in her family.
On July 22, 2016, both her father, Marcelo Garganta, and her brother, Joseph Garganta, would become some of the first extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims in Navotas.
Distrusting the justice system, Grace pins her hope on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to give justice to the deaths in her family.
Within the walls of Baclaran Church, surrounded by a mosaic of broken tiles created by the families of EJK victims, Grace told INQUIRER her story in Filipino.
This is the last part of INQUIRER.net’s three-part series exploring the impact of the ICC probe on the families of drug war victims. For the first two parts, click on the links at the end of this article.
Grace Garganta at the Baclaran Church (Photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)
Double losses
Rodrigo Duterte had just been sworn in as president in 2016 when Marcelo and Joseph were killed by masked men, a mere few hours apart, Grace said.
Armed men had entered their homes and introduced themselves as police officers. But they were wearing masks and civilian clothes.
The men had awoken their father. They offered no explanation, saying only that they wanted to take Grace’s father to the police station for “verification.”
At that point, the masked men forced the rest of the family outside of the house, even kicking some of the younger children.
Marcelo’s wife and their youngest daughter refused and witnessed Marcelo’s death.
Marcelo was only able to take a few steps before the men shot him four times.
Grace’s youngest sibling, who was only a child at the time, ran to her big sister crying. She told her that the men had seen their father still moving, and then shot him again.
“When papa moved, they shot papa again,” her sister told her.
Grace’s mother dragged her husband’s body, crying that she would bring him to the hospital. But the men pulled her hair and pointed a gun at her saying: If you don’t leave the house, you’re next.
When the masked men were leaving, they took her brother Joseph with them on their motorcycle, after he insisted on going back inside to their father.
Grace assumed that Joseph was being brought to the police station.
She went to the funeral parlor to handle the processing of her father’s remains. She ended up haggling with the funeral management, as they were charging her a lot.
During the argument, Grace asked for leniency as she still had to look for Joseph.
But the funeral parlor, instead of giving her some legroom, told her that another body was found that could be her brother. Grace was enraged, and she rushed home and try to raise some money.
As she exited the funeral parlor, she saw a body being brought in. Without needing to lift the blanket covering the body, Grace already knew it was her brother.
“When I lifted the sheet, his left eye was hanging out. His hands were like this,” she said, curling her own fingers inward. “He was made to suffer.”
Grace walked back to the funeral parlor, now needing to arrange two funerals.
Shattered lives
Marcelo was a carpenter. He would busy himself fixing all of the cracks and broken parts of their home. He could not be satisfied. Sometimes, Grace would even find the stairs in different parts of the house.
Now, since her father died, Grace would be reminded of him whenever it would rain and water would seep through the roof. She was now the one who would fix the roof.
On the other hand, Grace could always depend on Joseph as her big brother, whom she could always turn to for backup.
After her family had suddenly become the center of attention, they were suddenly harassed and bullied. Their family was seen on national television, crying about the injustice they experienced.
Their lives were turned upside down by the killing of her father and brother. And the children had to stop studying.
“We did not only lose people to death but our rights were taken away. Our lives were ruined when that happened. I don’t know how I survived at that time,” she said.
But Grace was determined to move herself and her family forward. She was determined not to allow her pain and grief to weigh her down.
In 2017, she went to Baclaran Church to seek help. At the time, the church was providing livelihood and aid to the families of drug war victims.
The walls of Baclaran Church were decorated with a mosaic created by the families of the victims. Grace said that they felt safe inside the church. Grace proudly showed off her creation, displaying a woman holding a gun upwards.
The church granted their family refuge from a government that had discarded them, Grace said.
With her father and brother gone, Grace now stands as the breadwinner of the family. After working different jobs, she is now able to put her siblings through school. She herself had started studying as well, splitting her time between work and school.
Holding onto hope
Grace and her family did not file a case in court, but she kept all of the documents they have.
When she went to the Department of Justice, she learned that her family was entitled to a P10,000 claim because her brother was deemed a “found body.”
The case of her father was tagged, however, as a “police encounter.” They received nothing for his death.
“Their word is that he ‘nanlaban’ [fought back]. There’s no help for those who fought back,” she said.
As early as then, she already knew that it would not be a fair fight. Grace had also witnessed countless other families of EJK victims deprived of justice in court.
Grace then decided not to file a case here, knowing the justice system.
Should the ICC continue its probe in the Philippines, Grace swears that she would be the first to cooperate with them.
“We are hoping that they look fairly at those with or without money. Because that is how it is in the Philippines. The Supreme Court’s weighing scales will have us at the lower end,” she said.
According to Grace, the investigation still has due process, which Marcelo and Joseph were deprived of.
“I think it is a big help. That must be why they are trying to block its entry here in the Philippines because they know that the ICC will find something out. How can you ask for justice here in your own country when your own country condones what is wrong?” Grace said.