MANILA: The Philippines’ Catholic Church assailed President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs for creating a “reign of terror” among the poor, in sermons read out at Saturday services that will be repeated to congregations across the country on Sunday.
In its most strongly worded attack on the crackdown on drug pushers and users, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said killing people was not the answer to trafficking of illegal drugs, and it was disturbing that many didn’t care about the bloodshed, or even approved of it.
“An even greater cause of concern is the indifference of many to this kind of wrong. It is considered as normal, and, even worse, something that (according to them) needs to be done,” the bishops said in a pastoral letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
“An additional cause of concern is the reign of terror in many places of the poor. Many are killed not because of drugs. Those who kill them are not brought to account,” they said.
More than 7,600 people have been killed since Duterte launched his anti-drugs campaign seven months ago, more than 2,500 in what police say were shootouts during raids and sting operations.
Both the government and police have strenuously denied that extrajudicial killings have taken place. The president’s office had no immediate comment on the bishops’ letter.
Beginning with Mass services on Saturday evening, priests read out the letter signed by the bishops of Asia’s biggest Catholic nation. Their address did not mention Duterte by name, but urged “elected politicians to serve the common good of the people and not their own interests” and called for steps to tackle “rogue policemen and corrupt judges.”
Nearly 80 percent of the Philippines’ 100 million people are Catholic and, unlike in many other countries where the faith has waned, the majority still practice with enthusiasm. While that support has historically given the Church significant political and social clout, it has been hesitant to criticize the blunt-spoken president’s war on drugs.
In interviews with Reuters last year, more than a dozen clergymen said they were uncertain how to take a stand against the killings given the popular support for Duterte’s campaign. Some said challenging him could be fraught with danger.
Duterte has routinely attacked the Church. He cursed the Pope for causing traffic snarl-ups during his 2015 visit, and as recently as this week called for a “showdown” with priests whom he has accused of having wives, engaging in homosexual acts, misusing state funds and molesting children.
'Rogue cops'
In apparent reference to accusations that many drug pushers and users have been victims of extra-judicial killings, the bishops said “every person has a right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” and the law should be followed.
“We must also give priority to reforming rogue policemen and corrupt judges,” they said.
The pastoral letter was read out during Mass on Saturday evening to a congregation of about 50 — mostly women — at the domed Church of St. Joseph inside the sprawling grounds of Camp Crame, the national police headquarters in Manila.
Father Jojo Borja, a chaplain at Camp Crame, said the situation was difficult for clergymen, particularly those employed by the government.
“We have to be in the middle always,” he told Reuters. “When we talk against the government we will be kicked out from the service. Sometimes we will be called for questioning, to ask about our loyalty.”
The bishops’ letter comes less than a week after Duterte suspended all police operations in the drug crackdown due to what he said was deep-rooted corruption in the force. He has put an anti-drugs agency in charge of the campaign and says he wants the military to play a supportive role.
In a series of reports last year, Reuters showed that the police had a 97-percent kill rate in their drug operations, the strongest proof yet that police were summarily shooting drug suspects.
The Reuters reports also found that low-level officials in poor neighborhoods helped police assemble “watch lists” of alleged drug users and pushers that were effectively hit-lists, with many of the people named ending up dead.
Duterte used exaggerated and flawed data, including the number of drug users in the Philippines, to justify his anti-narcotics crackdown, according to a Reuters investigation.
In a report this week, Amnesty International said police prosecuting the war on drugs behaved like the criminal underworld they were supposed to be suppressing, taking payments for killings and the delivery of bodies to funeral homes.
It said the wave of drugs-related killings appeared to be “systematic, planned and organized” by authorities, and could constitute crimes against humanity.
Philippine Catholic Church slams ‘reign of terror’ behind war on drugs
Philippine Catholic Church slams ‘reign of terror’ behind war on drugs
Families mourn those killed in a Congo mine landslide as some survivors prepare to return
GOMA, Congo: After a landslide last week killed at least 200 people in eastern Congo at a rebel-controlled coltan mine, families of the deceased and survivors are mourning their lost loved ones, and some survivors prepared to head back to the reopened mines.
On Wednesday, following heavy rains in eastern Congo, a network of hand-dug tunnels at the Rubaya mining complex collapsed, killing at least 200 artisanal miners and trapping an unknown number who remain missing. The mine, located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the west of the regional capital of Goma, has been under the control of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels since early 2024 and employs thousands of miners who work largely by hand.
Family members grieve
In the Mugunga neighborhood in Goma, the family of Bosco Nguvumali Kalabosh, 39, mourned his death Monday.
Since last Thursday, relatives, neighbors and loved ones have been gathering at the family home, sitting around a photograph of him placed up against a wall.
“He was supposed to return to Goma on Thursday,” said his older brother, Thimothée Kalabosh Nzanga.
Kalabosh had been a miner for more than 10 years. He owned his own mines on the site and came from a family where artisanal mining — mining for minerals using basic hand tools — had been passed down from generation to generation. He leaves behind a widow and four children, the eldest of whom is 5 years old.
Survivors head back to Rubaya
For survivors trickling back into town, the pressure to return to the mines is clear — despite the constant danger.
Tumaini Munguiko, a survivor of the collapse, came to offer his condolences to Kalabosh’s family. “Seeing our peers die is very painful. But despite the pain, we are forced to return to the mines to survive,” he said.
Munguiko calmly explained that he had already experienced several similar disasters. “It has almost become normal. We accept it because it is our means of survival. I was saved this time, but I lost five friends and my older brother.”
According to him, landslides are common in Rubaya, especially during the rainy season. “When it rains, the clay soils become unstable. Some take shelter, others perish, others survive, and others watch from afar,” he said.
Miners dig long tunnels, often parallel to one another, with limited support and no safe evacuation route in case of a collapse.
A former miner at the site told The Associated Press that there have been repeated landslides because the tunnels are dug by hand, poorly constructed and not maintained.
“People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures. In a single pit, there can be as many as 500 miners, and because the tunnels run parallel, one collapse can affect many pits at once,” former miner Clovis Mafare said.
“The diggers don’t have insurance,” said Mafare. Of potential compensation for families, he said: “It’s a whole legal process, and it’s very long. They might receive some money for the funerals, but that small amount isn’t compensation.”
Kalabosh’s family has not received compensation for their loss.
However, both Munguiko and Nzanga say they will return to the mines soon despite the risks.
“I have no choice. Our whole life is there,” said Munguiko.
Rare earth minerals
The Rubaya mines have been at the center of the recent fighting in eastern Congo, changing hands between the Congolese government and rebel groups. For over a year now, the site has been controlled by the M23 rebels.
The mines produce coltan — short for columbite-tantalite — an ore from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted. Both are considered critical raw materials by the United States, the European Union, China and Japan. Tantalum is used in mobile phones, computers and automotive electronics, as well as in aircraft engines, missile components and GPS systems. Niobium is used in pipelines, rockets and jet engines.
The mines at Rubaya are massive and attract people from across the region. Artisanal miners and workers have been flocking there for years, drawn to the site to earn a steady income in a region plagued by poverty and chronic insecurity. A disaster like this affects people across eastern Congo and the grief has spread to regional hubs like Goma.
For the last two weeks, Rubaya has been virtually cut off from the world. The mining town has no mobile network or Internet connection. Poor infrastructure, coupled with persistent conflict, means cellular service and electricity are unreliable. To communicate with the outside world, residents must pay around 5,000 Congolese francs — just over $2 — for 30 minutes of connection via a private Starlink system.
Congo’s government, in a statement on X, expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and accused the rebels of illegally and unsafely exploiting the region’s natural resources while blaming Rwanda. An M23 spokesperson accused the government of politicizing the tragedy and listed other collapses at government-controlled mines.
