The Philippine Supreme Court's first division dismissed an appeal in the case of Efren Morillo, a survivor of a deadly TokHang operation, despite the International Criminal Court pursuing related charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte. Families of the victims have now petitioned the full court, highlighting the irony of international accountability contrasting with domestic inaction. This development underscores ongoing challenges in prosecuting drug war killings locally.
In a case highlighted by the International Criminal Court as emblematic of alleged state policy during the Philippine drug war, 28-year-old fruit and vegetable vendor Efren Morillo survived a brutal TokHang operation where police shot and killed four of his friends. Morillo played dead amid the gunfire, and a witness overheard an officer say, “Sir, may humihinga pa (Sir, one of them is still breathing).” Neighbors approached the scene but could not intervene as the killings unfolded.
The incident, which occurred during former President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign, led to charges filed by Morillo and the victims' families against the involved police officers. However, the Ombudsman dismissed these charges in 2023. The petitioners then appealed to the Supreme Court, but in November 2024, the court's first division—comprising Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and Associate Justices Ramon Hernando, Rodil Zalameda, Ricardo Rosario, and Midas Marquez—rejected the appeal.
This decision came even as the ICC's pre-trial chamber authorized an investigation into the drug war on September 21, 2024, citing Morillo's case as a key example. Meanwhile, Duterte faces custody in The Hague as an alleged co-perpetrator in crimes against humanity involving murder.
On December 5, 2024, the families filed a petition to elevate the matter to the Supreme Court en banc, the full bench of 15 justices. Their filing argues that dismissal would create an “absurd situation” where the alleged mastermind is prosecuted internationally, yet the direct perpetrators evade domestic charges. The petition emphasizes the strength of their evidence, stating, “If the Supreme Court finds that the petitioners’ pieces of evidence are not enough... then virtually none of the thousands of killings during the ‘war on drugs’ can ever be prosecuted domestically.”
Reported by Lian Buan, this case illustrates the persistent barriers to justice for drug war victims in the Philippines.