Tokhang Sa Tokhang

In this episode we speak with a drug suspect working as a paralegal - in a dysfunctional and corrupted correctional system that tends to breed more crime.

Let’s get to know the stories of drug users who were able to recover when thousands of others could not. As thousands are killed for alleged drug links, here are four former drug users on the lifelong road to recovery — in their own words.

Why do decent but desperate Filipinos fall not only into using drugs, but actually peddling? And how do good intentions - of people, and of government leaders - turn out so bad?

Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs was the bloodiest, but it was not the exception. It was the culmination of a problematic, simplistic paradigm that was festering and unchallenged for decades. From the dictator Marcos to the terms of Estrada and Arroyo, and even with some supporters of the Aquinos, abusive "total wars on drugs" had been enabled by everyone from populist politicians to moralistic, conservative sectors - religious leaders included. Whichever came first - the popularity or the populism - these unbridled, abusive campaigns have made governments and the entire society miss crucial insights on how to more responsibly deal with drugs and all its associated social ills.

For those left behind by victims of Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, there is a need to move on without waiting for justice. Civil society groups have taken the lead on providing support to surviving relatives through counseling sessions, financial assistance, and even a coffee shop that keeps the memories of victims alive, but these grassroots efforts alone are not enough for wounds to heal. How do they get up, move on, without healing?

The body of Kian delos Santos was exhumed five years after his murder, along with others killed under former president Rodrigo Duterte's War on Drugs. One basic truth was also unearthed: these victims were among the poorest of the poor. But who really knows, or listens to, their untold stories? And now that everything is being dug back up, how should everyone and everything be seen, if we are to really understand drug use and its contexts, and more responsibly respond to it?

In the first season of Tokhang sa Tokhang, we checked in on the families, communities, sectors, and institutions gravely impacted by President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.In Season 2, we continue to say, "Tao po, kumusta ang Tokhang?" But while we continue the campaign and questions around justice, we expand our conversation to include a broader look at drugs, our assumptions about the people who use them, and the roles they play in our culture, society, and our everyday lives. Joining veteran journalist Roby Alampay is co-host Gideon Lasco, medical doctor and anthropologist, who has been studying drug use and drug policy in the Philippines for more than a decade.Listen to Tokhang sa Tokhang season two. A new episode is out every Friday.Tokhang sa Tokhang is a PumaPodcast production.

Kumusta ang mga nanay? Kumusta ang mga barangay?President Duterte's War on Drugs was launched to save our families and rescue our communities. Four years later, we check in on the leaders of both.