Photojournalist Retells Stories of ‘Tokhang’ Victims During Bato’s Watch as PNP Chief

A Filipino photojournalist known for documenting some of the most gruesome moments of the bloody drug war during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has retold some of the killings under the watch of then Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now-Senador Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.  The body of Gilbert Beguelme, a construction worker, lies slumped on the bonnet of a jeepney after he was shot dead by unknown men in Manila, November 9, 2016. He had already been warned by his sibling to stop using drugs because of the rampant killings. Photo by Ezra Acayan. Ezra Acayan recently shared on his Facebook page harrowing images and a video of three of the thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKS) that he covered, including the funeral of Leah Espiritu, a mother of six, accused of being a small-time drug peddler. She was gunned down while doing laundry outside her home.  “It was just one of too many funerals I covered during the drug war. I may have lost my sanity at some point—not because of what I was seeing, but because so many others saw this and thought it was the right thing,” Acayan said. He also shared a photo of the [...]