Former drug war perpetrators want to come forward, says Truth Commission

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Confessed drug war perpetrators are also expressing interest in sharing their stories, according to the Truth Commission.

In a "24 Oras" report from Mariz Umali on Friday, the Truth Commission held its fourth session earlier in the day. The Commission aims to document and seek out what happened during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

“We are getting calls and interest even from former perpetrators, so maybe against the backdrop of what has already been documented, but former perpetrators are also now expressing interest in telling their stories," Commissioner Al Fuertes said.

While the Truth Commission stressed that it is not a prosecutorial body that could directly file a case, they are listening to the victims and survivors, which could be key to reopening their cases.

“The challenge is, and this is what the Commission intends to do, is to really pressure the government to take the lead in pursuing justice for the victims because the victims, they need all the help they can get,” Commissioner Carlos Conde said.

It has been six years since Lorna Pepaño lost her son. Her neighbor had told her that her son Christian was gunned down.

“Nakita ko na po yung anak ko, nakabulagta. May malay pa naman siya, sabi niya, ‘hindi po ako yun’... pero tinuluyan pa rin siya,” Pepaño said.

(I saw my son lying there. He was still conscious; he said, ‘it was not me’... but they still killed him.)

Pepaño said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Now, she hoped that she could find justice for her son who, by her account, was a good and prayerful man. She also expressed hope that there would be no more killings like the one that happened to her son and other victims. —LDF, GMA News