About this Website

What is this website?

This website is a eulogy for those killed during the “drug war” policy that began in the Philippines on May 2016; it is an online memorial for those departed through the violence that is the hallmark of this policy.

As the “drug war” continues to claim lives, we hear about these deaths as numbers, violent encounters, or dead bodies. We hope to never forget that these are human lives lost; victims who are loved and mourned, people who had families and friends. We believe we should shift focus on the individual victims, not the acts that killed them, nor the alleged reasons for why their lives were so cruelly ended.

Night after night, in the news we see stories of victims who are found dead on the streets or in their homes. Their deaths are counted up and presented to us as numbers. Our hope is to not leave them recorded as faceless victims, but remembered as individuals — this project is meant to restore their identities.

Where do you get information?

For many of the victims, the only information we know about them is through coverage of their deaths in different television, online, and print news stories. These are the main sources of information on this memorial site, but there are a handful of stories that are contributed by individuals who have volunteered their time for this effort.

Each victim is known to us only through what is in the news, sometimes several victims are grouped into one story. We separate these victims and include them on the site as individuals. Links to the source (news website) are included in the entry wherever possible.

Photos and text are excerpted from the news story itself. We do not rewrite any content. You may follow the links to the news sites to read the entire story.

We do not independently verify facts; we are not a news organization. Since all of the entries are sourced from news stories, these are already verified.

Who are you?

This site was created by independent individuals who are volunteering their time. There are currently less than 10 people contributing their efforts.

How can I contribute information, stories, or time?

We welcome contributions in the form of new victim profiles or additional information on victims that are already featured on the site, especially welcome are new entries which are more in-depth features that are originally written.

There are three broad types of entries, all of which are valued on the site:

• Basic information: Simple data entries without a narrative, sources can be news sites and/or other reports, provide links to sources of information. Follow the template of information you can see in each entry.
• Short narrative: 200-400 words, can be excerpted from the source but must carry the link to the source
• Full feature: Up to 1,500 words, ideally with some photos of the victim while s/he was alive. These are original writing. Let us know if you would like to be named as the author of the entry or if you choose to remain anonymous.

To assure our readers that the individual profiled is a real victim, kindly include any links to media coverage of the incident. If there is none, you can still submit and we can carry it but please provide photos of the victim (while alive) and include as much detail as you can about the incident that led to his/her death.

Send contributions to this email address: nakikiramaypo//@//gmail//.//com (removing the “//”)

Curating policies for contributions

Contributions sent to us are curated and we reserve the right to select which victim profiles are appropriate for the site. Similarly, if needed, we may edit originally written entries for style and consistency with other entries.

Who is considered a victim?

Any person killed through violent means during the “war on drugs” is a victim. This includes police who are killed in the line of duty, unidentified bodies that are found murdered in a manner consistent with the modus operandi of drug-related vigilante killings, such as “riding-in-tandem”, and murders carried out by so-called “bonnet men” or masked individuals; and, alleged drug dependents who are killed during buy-bust operations. Victims include unexplained murders that have unclear motives but are “copycat” by modus operandi of drug-related killings. The definition however does not include killings that have identified motives that are not related to drugs, such as domestic violence and political killings.