Drug war widow faces bigger struggle for survival

Five months after Marcelo Daa Jr. was shot dead inside their house, his wife Maribeth continues to cry for justice while struggling to raise their three children on her own without a stable job.

In August 2016, her husband and four other men were killed in an alleged shootout with plainclothes policemen from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) during a drug raid. The operation was part of “Oplan Tokhang,” a component of the Duterte administration’s widely criticized war on drugs.

One of the targets, Efren Morillo, miraculously survived despite a chest gunshot wound. His version of the events that night is different from that of the police: The unarmed victims were shot execution-style.

His testimony became the basis for a landmark petition filed by families of the slain men in the Supreme Court. The first legal challenge against Tokhang, the high tribunal ruled in favor of the petitioners which had sought protection from the police and the suspension of antidrug operations in their area.

But for Maribeth, the significant victory seems hollow. “All I can think about now is getting a better job for our three children,” she told the Inquirer. “But we fear the police, those not on our side.”

Her eldest daughter is 14 years old, followed by two sons aged 12 and 4. All three were in the area when the police barged into their house, cuffed their father and his friends and led them away to a place where they would later be shot.

While the two older children have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding their father’s death, the reasons behind it are unclear.

Maribeth, however, has other concerns. The weeks after Daa’s death on Aug. 21 saw her frantically raising P47,000 to pay for his funeral.

Now, she relies on her earnings from a small “sari-sari” (retail) store for her family’s basic needs.

To supplement her income, she moonlights as a fruit vendor from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.

“I earn only P200 a day,” she said. Before his death, Daa was the sole breadwinner, working as a garbage collector and at times, as a construction helper.

But Ella, Jimmy and Sonny may soon lose their mother, too. Maribeth is strongly considering finding employment abroad to provide for her children.

“I don’t know what awaits me in another country. Maybe I will be a domestic helper,” she said, adding: “But at least, I will earn more.”

Despite having a solid case for filing murder charges against the police officers who killed her husband and his four friends, Maribeth seems hesitant, mainly because she is afraid.

But the Center for International Law which provided legal assistance to the petitioners expressed hope the families would continue to fight for justice.

For Maribeth, the bigger fight lies in the everyday struggle to put food on the table. In the many sleepless nights filled with dread, she holds on to one dream where her husband visited her.

“In my dream, I asked him: What do we do now? It’s so difficult,” she said in between tears. “But he told me: You can do this. You can do this.”