Wife of ‘Oplan Tokhang’ victim wants ICC trial for Duterte

Joralyn Fuellas. INQUIRER.net/John Eric Mendoza

MANILA, Philippines — The wife of a  drug suspect killed at the height of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs  and “Oplan Tokhang” wants an International Criminal Court (ICC) trial for former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Joralyn Fuellas, whose husband Reynaldo was killed in July 2016, said she is not confident of a fair trial for Duterte before local courts.

“Kasi dito, parang niluluto (It seems rigged here),” Fuellas said in an interview at La Loma Cemetery in Caloocan City, where a shrine-cum-columbarium – Dambana ng Paghilom (Shrine of Healing) serves as a resting place for the remains of 44 people who died under Oplan Tokhang, including her husband.

“Parang may kinakampihan sila, may pinapaboran, kaya mahirap makamtan ang hustisya kapag dito,” she added.

(It seems like they are taking sides, they are favoring someone, so it’s hard to achieve justice here.)

Reynaldo, who was on the drugs watchlist, was 42 years old when he was killed in July 2016, leaving behind his 11 children, according to his wife.

No one was charged over his death since no witness was willing to testify, his wife further said.

Her husband was just among the 6,000 people killed during Duterte’s drug war, according to official government data. 

But human rights watchdogs and the ICC itself estimated the death toll under Duterte’s drug war to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019 alone, as they noted that several of these are extrajudicial killings.

“Danasin niya sana ang hirap na dinadanas ng tao na nabiktima ng Tokhang,” Joralyn said.

(May he experience the same agony victims of Tokhang went through.)

“Hindi sa lahat ng oras nasa kanila. Ang gulong nga eh diba. Hindi lahat laging nasa itaas, bababa din sila,” she added.

(Life is just like a wheel, one is not always on top.)