Robredo vows to find more help for EJK victims’ kin

Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday vowed to explore more ways to help families of extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims as they staged a play in her office narrating personal stories of the terror and anguish they suffered under President Duterte’s war on drugs.

The group, composed mostly of mothers and dependents of EJK victims, performed “Women and Orphans Empowerment: A Theater Arts Showcase,” as part of the PagHilom program (Healing Intervention Leading to Optimum Management in the Rehabilitation of Significant Others of EJK Victims).

The program is run by St. Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center, founded by Fr. Flavie Villanueva in 2015, to help families left behind by EJK victims heal, become productive and empowered.

In her speech on Monday, Robredo said she invited the group to perform at the Quezon City Reception House, where she holds office, following appeals for help from EJK victims’ relatives since the administration’s campaign against drugs began.

Pleas pouring

“Since the war on drugs started, we have been receiving various forms of appeals—some through letters, some through calls and some even visit here to ask for help,” she said.

She acknowledged that performing the play, where widows and orphans were actors themselves, was not easy as the families had to relive the tragedies that struck them.

She said, though, that it could help spread awareness about their plight.

“We are always uneasy that we are not helping enough because our resources are limited,” Robredo said.

She said she invited partners of her antipoverty program “Angat Buhay” to discuss “what kind of lasting assistance we can give.”