The former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and the student Kian delos Santos were felled by bullets 34 years apart this month in starkly different circumstances, but many agree that they—along with the victims of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s martial rule and of Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”—met their end in a climate of impunity.

Seeing this parallelism, the Buhay ang People Power Campaign Network (BAPP) launched its “Justice for All” campaign last Aug. 17 at the Dambana ng Paghilom, a shrine for victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK), inside a public cemetery in Caloocan City.  

“This is a reminder that while we are distracted by the squabble between the two heads of the same monster, the bottom line is there’s a widespread violation of rights under the Duterte and Marcos regimes,” BAPP co-convenor Francis “Kiko” Dee, a grandson of Ninoy Aquino, told CoverStory.

Delos Santos was 17 when he was shot dead in a back alley of a neighborhood in Caloocan on the night of Aug. 16, 2017, a year into then President Duterte’s crackdown on drug suspects.  

CCTV footage of policemen dragging the 12th grader into the alley before firing at him sparked public outrage, triggered street protests, and prompted congressional inquiries into extrajudicial killings during the antidrug campaign. Three policemen were convicted of his killing by a local court.  

On Aug. 21, 1983, Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on his return to the country from self-exile in the United States. He had announced that he was returning to unite the opposition against the strongman, the father of the incumbent President.

His final moments in the plane, the tension on his face as he was taken by uniformed men from his seat and escorted to the exit door, were captured on international TV cameras and seared in the national memory.

The days of mourning for Aquino and the never-before-seen funeral cortege were followed by unrelenting mass protests, precipitating the people’s revolt in February 1986 that toppled Marcos Sr. and catapulted the former senator’s widow, Corazon C. Aquino, to the presidency.

During the launch of Justice for All, Tina Bawagan of Survivors’ Hub said the families of those killed during Duterte’s watch could find solidarity with the survivors of martial law because they both struggled against state-sponsored violence and injustice.

“We stand in solidarity [with you] because during our time, many were also arrested, tortured, and killed. We understand what you have experienced,” Bawagan said.

Delos Santos’ uncle, Randy delos Santos, as well as the partner of Mark Anthony Ruivivar and the wife of Armando David, among others, held back tears as excerpts from the book “Paghilom—Healing from the Philippine Drug War” were read during the program. Ruivivar and David were killed in 2019 and 2017, respectively.

The program concluded with the tolling of a gong 43 times to represent the number of EJK cases filed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

After Duterte stepped down in 2022, the police reported 6,000 deaths from his brutal antidrug campaign, but rights groups claimed the death toll could go as high as 30,000.

The families of EJK victims are seeing a glimmer of hope in their quest for justice as Duterte faces trial for crimes against humanity at the ICC. The confirmation of charges is scheduled next month. 

At least 3,240 people were killed by the military and police among the 107,240 victims of human rights violations during the Marcos Sr. regime, which saw the then first family amassing more than $5 billion in ill-gotten wealth on top of $683 million in assets stashed in Swiss banks, according to the Ateneo Library and Museum. 

Kiko Dee said the BAPP deemed it appropriate to launch the Justice for All campaign to commemorate the killings of Ninoy Aquino and Kian delos Santos this month, as well as to mark the 53rd anniversary of Marcos Sr.’s declaration of martial law and the ICC confirmation of charges against Duterte in September.

“We think this should be one campaign, and the overarching theme is justice for all,” he said. “Justice for the victims of dictatorship, justice for the victims of EJK.”

The BAPP announced plans to hold a candle-lighting ceremony at the Inang Bayan Monument at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, as well as a retelling of the atrocities committed during, and the resistance to, the dictatorship on Sept. 23. 

It will also hold a Mass at the Dambana ng Paghilom inside the La Loma Cemetery in Caloocan on the confirmation of charges against Duterte.  

Between now and Sept. 23, Masses for “accountability and justice” will be held, according to Dee.

“What we want to remind the country is that this is one struggle even though Marcos and Duterte are fighting,” he said, referring to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, who were once close allies. “The life of every Filipino is important. There’s innate value in the life of every Filipino.”

The BAPP said it continues to organize and support initiatives that advance democracy, human rights, and good governance.