Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangilista

This is a fascinating book that chronicles what happened during the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. The ran on the platform that he would rid the country of drug gangs, something that sounds like it might be a good idea, and yet the devil is in the details, as they say. As it turns out, everyone felt empowered to take the law into their own hands, to act as judge, jury, and executioner of neighbors and enemies alike--it is the story of state sanctioned vigilantism and what that looks and feels like. The author covered Duterte’s drug war at great personal risk as a reporter for the online news service Rappler, whose CEO, Maria Ressa, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. Evangelista describes the killings in gruesome detail and portrays the grief of the victims’ families. In 2016, as Duterte launched his bloody crackdown, he derided his targets: “Are they human?” he asked. Evangelista shows that they were. Her larger theme is the complicity of the Filipino public in Duterte’s lawlessness. She describes the ecstasy with which crowds welcomed his profanity- and threat-laden speeches at election rallies and the complacency of citizens who were sure that other people, not they, were the targets of his wrath. Sound familiar? Just this week in the United States an elected GOP member advocated for the same sort of vigilantism towards Democrats, elected officials and private citizens alike.