The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War

Summary

The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War

Up First from NPR – March 23, 2025

In the latest episode of NPR's "Up First," titled "The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War," host Aisha Rascoe delves deep into the enduring impact of former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte's controversial war on drugs. This comprehensive summary captures the episode's key discussions, insights, and personal stories, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of the situation in the Philippines following Duterte's tumultuous tenure.

1. Duterte's Arrest and the International Criminal Court (ICC) Case

The episode opens with the unprecedented arrest of Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity due to his administration's association with extrajudicial killings (EJKs) targeting suspected drug users and sellers.

Notable Quote:

“In a statement Duterte released on his way to the Hague, he said he expects a long legal battle.” [01:57]

Background: Duterte ascended to the Philippine presidency in 2016, initiating a relentless crackdown on drug abuse. His vow, "I'd be happy to slaughter them," marked the beginning of a brutal campaign that led to the deaths of an estimated 8,000 to 30,000 individuals over six years (00:58).

2. Impact on Families and National Division

The ICC's actions have polarized Filipino society. While families of EJK victims rejoice, hoping for justice, Duterte retains substantial support. The arrest has exacerbated tensions, particularly between Duterte's faction and current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a political rival with a fraught family history.

Notable Quotes:

"They're thrilled. They're in shock. There have been very few successful prosecutions to date, and families hope they might get some justice after all these years." [02:25]

"Duterte's arrest is not about justice, but about President Marcos trying to eliminate his political rival." [03:09]

3. On-the-Ground Reporting: Neighborhoods and Personal Stories

NPR's correspondent Emily Fang provides firsthand accounts from affected neighborhoods, highlighting the persistent fear and violence that continue under Marcos Jr.'s administration. She visits Novaliches, a densely populated and impoverished area north of Manila, where residents recount personal losses and the omnipresent threat of police violence.

Notable Quote:

“Policing policies because they think it may end this cycle of death and violence. But based on my reporting, I don't think it does well.” [27:46]

Case Study: The tragic story of Chris Mel Serioso, a 29-year-old father who was fatally shot by police despite attempting to seek rehabilitation (07:56). His wife, Tin, expresses frustration, stating, "just because you use drugs does not mean you deserve to die" (07:52).

4. Documentation Challenges and Research Efforts

Emily Fang highlights the difficulties in obtaining accurate data on EJKs. Independent researchers like Joel Ariate and Lara Del Mundo have taken it upon themselves to document these killings meticulously, uncovering discrepancies in official police reports.

Notable Quote:

“It's utterly untrue. Under the Marcos administration... one Filipino gets killed a day.” [10:06]

Challenges: The Philippine National Police provide inconsistent and incomplete data, often denying higher death tolls (09:03). Community leaders like Romeo Grutas emphasize the reliance on word-of-mouth for information in impoverished areas where official reporting is sparse (12:57).

5. Government Policies Under President Marcos Jr.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has attempted to pivot from Duterte's lethal approach by promoting drug rehabilitation over punitive measures. However, the effectiveness of these policies remains questionable, with EJKs persisting at a concerning rate.

Notable Quotes:

“Not one person died.” [14:17] – Referring to a drug bust under Marcos Jr.

“They need more support in terms of drug rehabilitation centers.” [16:37]

Rehabilitation Efforts: Clinics offer addiction counseling and moral education, but lack sufficient funding and trained personnel. Dr. Jose Bienvenido, a leading figure in rehabilitation efforts, underscores the slow progress and ongoing stigma surrounding drug addiction (15:08).

6. Cultural and Political Climate

The entrenched culture of impunity and the lingering support for Duterte complicate efforts to implement meaningful reforms. The ongoing feud between the Duterte and Marcos families further destabilizes the political landscape, hindering unified action against drug-related violence.

Notable Quotes:

“Yeah, I love him.” [17:35] – A supporter of Duterte.

“When Jimboy’s body was in the river, she saw someone kill connected to the police, tried to plant drugs on her brother's body.” [20:07]

Public Sentiment: Despite Duterte's removal from office, his influence persists, with his daughter Sarah maintaining significant political clout. A recent poll indicates that over half of Filipinos still support the ICC’s investigation, signaling a complex public opinion landscape (26:54).

7. Path Forward: Rehabilitation vs. Punishment

Transitioning from a culture of punishment to one of rehabilitation presents significant challenges. The normalization of violence and deep-seated mistrust in law enforcement impede progress towards a more humane and effective approach to drug-related issues.

Notable Quotes:

“Social stigma will always be there... It's a medical condition that we can help them through it.” [16:08]

“The cycle of violence continues.” [25:09]

Future Directions: Expanding rehabilitation centers and providing comprehensive training for addiction medicine are critical steps needed to shift public perception and policy effectively (16:37).

8. Conclusion

"The Long Shadow of Duterte's Drug War" offers a sobering examination of the Philippines' ongoing struggle with drug-related violence and political turbulence. While Duterte's arrest marks a significant development, the pervasive culture of violence and political division present formidable barriers to achieving justice and meaningful reform. The episode underscores the urgent need for continued documentation, international support, and a heartfelt commitment to shifting from punishment to rehabilitation to break the cycle of fear and death that has plagued Filipino communities for years.

Closing Remarks:

“What I think we have stop down is just the feeling of powerlessness that these family members feel about the safety of their loved ones.” [Aisha Rascoe reflecting on the family's plight]

Final Thought: As the Philippines grapples with its past and seeks a path forward, the voices of those affected by the drug war illuminate the profound human cost of political decisions and the enduring hope for a safer, more just society.

Transcript

[Aisha Rascoe]

Aisha. I'm Aisha Rascoe, and this is THE Sunday story, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. This month, Filipino leader Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody. He's now in the Netherlands, where he's facing charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court over his connections to a spree of killings. Those killings were among the brutal tactics Duterte championed in order to combat drug abuse, starting starting when he was mayor in the 1990s and later as president of the Philippines. NPR's international correspondent Emily Fang has covered the Asia Pacific region for the last decade and joins us now. Welcome.

[Emily Fang]

Thanks so much for having me, Aisha.

[Aisha Rascoe]

Emily, what do we know about the International Criminal Court's case against Duterte?

[Emily Fang]

It has been a long time coming. Duterte became president of the Philippines in 2016, and that very year he vowed.

[Tin]

To wipe out drug abuse in the country.

[Aisha Rascoe]

I'd be happy to slaughter them.

[Emily Fang]

And almost immediately after saying that there was a huge spike in killings outside of the rule of law. These were known as extrajudicial killings, or EJKs, as people in the Philippines now call them in shorthand. And over the next six years, human rights organizations estimate anywhere between 8,000 to 30,000 people were killed like this on the mere suspicion that they used or sold drugs like marijuana or something called shabu, which is a mix of methamphetamines and caffeine that's popped popular in the Philippines. Sometimes it was the police who were responsible for the killings, but more often people were killed by anonymous assailants that residents suspected were linked to Duterte. And that's what's prompted this investigation and now the arrest of Duterte by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which is in the Netherlands.

[Aisha Rascoe]

What are the next steps for this ICC case against Duterte?

[Emily Fang]

First, there's going to be an initial hearing where the charges will be formally presented. Then his legal team will have a chance to respond to those charges. And if a judge decides there is sufficient evidence, the case will move to a trial that will likely last many months. And in a statement Duterte released on his way to the Hague, he said he expects a long legal battle.

[Aisha Rascoe]

How are the families of victims of these killings in the Philippines reacting to the news of his arrest?

[Emily Fang]

They're thrilled. They're in shock. There have been very few successful prosecutions to date, and families hope they might get some justice after all these years. But there's also a lot of backlash in the Philippines after the ICC started investigating Duterte in 2019. He withdrew the Philippines from membership in the court. And now Duterte's main political rival, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Is the current president of the Philippines. And perhaps infamously, the Duterte and Marcos families have not been getting along. So last year, Duterte's daughter Sarah, who is also the country's vice president now, said she fantasized about beheading Marcos Jr. And said she'd hired an assassin to kill him if needed. So the two do not like each other. Plus, Duterte still has a lot of supporters in the Philippines. And they say Duterte's arrest is not about justice, but about President Marcos trying to eliminate his political rival. All said, this arrest has totally divided the country and it's played into this Marcos Duterte family feud that defines the country's politics. And I want to note that although extrajudicial killings have slowed by a lot since Marcos took office, they have not stopped completely. There are hundreds of people a year still being murdered in their homes or on the streets over any suspicions that they use or sell drugs.

[Aisha Rascoe]

So last year we aired your story looking at the legacy of these killings. Today, we want to come back to this episode since the neighborhoods you visited remain hotspots for death under the current president.

[Emily Fang]

That's right. For this story, I started by visiting a poor area on the outskirts of Manila, the capital.

[Tin]

One of the first places I went to was Novaliches. It's just north of Metro Manila, the capital region and one of the most densely populated parts of the Philippines. Novaliches is a bit of a down on its luck neighborhood, full of twisty, steep alleyways which seriously flood during storms. I came here to meet a woman named Tin.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

I have two kids and we do two.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

But.

[Tin]

Tin is this wafer thin young woman with big eyes staring out of a round face. When I meet her, she's balancing one of her children, a fussy baby on her hip.

[Emily Fang]

And what's, what's your child's name here?

[Chris Mel Serioso]

Her name is Gasitina Serioso.

[Tin]

She's constantly caring for others, and until recently, that included her husband, Chris Mil Serioso. She often worried for his life, mainly because police in their neighborhood here operate with impunity. She says it's a fact of life here that the police mount drug bust operations. Nothing really changed under Marcos. In Duterte's time, the police were killing people. And she says under Marcos, if the police say you are doing drugs, they can also do drugs, whatever they want. And Tin knew her husband could be a target because he sometimes used shabu. She says it took his mind off their financial troubles. Like many young men, he could not find a stable job. Last fall, she says, a police officer shot dead an alleged drug seller who lived next to them. Tin pulled Serioso aside. She says she warned her husband to stop using. She said, look at this woman who was just killed. This could be you.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

Months ago.

[Tin]

Her husband had already narrowly avoided death. In 2020, he turned himself into police for drug rehabilitation. Believing this vague promise from the Duterte administration that those who sought rehab would receive perpetual amnesty. Tin says he was scared he'd be gunned down like so many young men. Tin says Serioso briefly quit shabu for a few years. He wanted to stay alive for their two children. But she says the stress of trying to make do and raise a family in the slums caused him to occasionally turn to marijuana and more shabu. Death was still waiting for the 29 year old, and it struck last October.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

3Am.

[Tin]

Chris Mel Sirioso had been out late and then got out drinking at a bar in the neighborhood. A police car pulled up. Tin says CCTV cameras show her husband being dragged into a police jeep. An hour later, Seriosa was brought to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. She says the official cause of death was lack of blood due to two gunshot wounds, hypovolemic shock. The initial police report said the cop had shot Serioso because he'd been selling drugs, a charge his family denies. Yes, he sometimes used shabu, but Tin says, just because you use drugs does not mean you deserve to die.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

Criminal.

[Tin]

Serioso is one of 342 people killed in drug related operations in 2023 alone, entirely without due process. This statistic, it's not coming from the police or the Marcos administration, but from a small group of independent researchers. They've made it their mission to document the true toll of the drug war on Filipino society.

[Aisha Rascoe]

You're listening to the Sunday story. We'll be right back. In the Philippines, getting official data on drug killings isn't easy, but one group has made it a priority. NPR's Emily Fang picks up the story.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

So this is where we input the month, the weekly killings.

[Emily Fang]

In March of 2024, I went to the University of the Philippines in Manila and wound my way through the sunny campus to a shady office tucked in.

[Tin]

The back of one of the buildings.

[Emily Fang]

Because I wanted to understand more about how we have these numbers about extrajudicial killings. And it turns Out. They've been meticulously documented by this small team of researchers here.

[Joel Ariate]

I'm Joel Ariate, I'm a university researcher of the Third World Study Center.

[Tin]

I met Ariate and his colleague Lara Del Mundo just as they were about to release their weekly report on the latest state sanctioned drug killings. The figures for those seven days alone that March was 11 people killed. Everything is double checked by Del Mundo and based on police reports, media reports and security camp footage, some weeks are.

[Chris Mel Serioso]

More difficult than the others, some weeks are more violent than others. This week you get to see, well, you're forced to see photos and videos of killings. So it's not easy to go through that on a bi weekly basis.

[Emily Fang]

In April 2024, the current President Marcos touted the new direction his crackdown on drugs is taking, insisting that it is bloodless. But given what he sees each day, Joel Ariete does not buy it.

[Joel Ariate]

It's utterly untrue. Under the Marcos administration, I mean, the average is from 0.8 to 0.9 killing a day, meaning one Filipino gets killed a day. And in the first quarter of 2024, we've counted 75 killings and that's for 73 days. So there's even a bit of a surge there.

[Emily Fang]

Ariati is a philosophy professor and he.

[Tin]

Kind of fell into this work as a volunteer and just found he could even when it basically became a full.

[Joel Ariate]

Time job because we're the only one left counting, so might as well continue.

[Tin]

And if you don't do it, no one knows the real scale of the problem.

[Joel Ariate]

No, because I have some friends in the media and they tried asking data from the Philippine National Police. Actually, we got into a bit of trouble with the police because we're issuing particular numbers and they're denying it.

[Tin]

The Philippines police does release its own data on drug killings, but their figures are inconsistent and they're not released regularly. For example, for all of 2023, the police said about 47,000 people surrendered, were arrested or died in drug operations, but did not break that figure down. They also did not respond to repeated requests for comment from NPR for this story. Even Ariante says his figures are almost certainly in undercount. Another reason why it's hard to count is while stories of killings are common, especially in poor neighborhoods, many of these killings go unreported, but they're well known within the community. I met with a man named Romeo Grutas. He's the neighborhood president of a community watch organization in a region called Bulacan on the northern outskirts of Manila. When I spoke to him. Grutas said just the week prior he heard five people were killed. NPR confirmed the deaths with the families, but there are no media reports and no police reports of the deaths. This is the kind of news that spreads through word of mouth. In large part because those who are killed are from these poor areas. Their lives are seen as dispensable. And also in these areas, selling drugs is often the most reliable source of.

[Romeo Grutas]

Income because of lack of jobs, lack of employment. Even the grandmother, even the grandmothers are forced to sell drugs just to augment the the economic.

[Tin]

Gupta describes corruption and a reign of terror by police in Bulacan.

[Romeo Grutas]

They are very afraid, so their house, they padlocked their house.

[Tin]

Guptas switches to Tagalog to say people are desensitized to all this death. When a killing happens, it's just an everyday tragedy. People barely take notice anymore. When current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Took over, he set to work trying to burnish the Philippines international reputation and differentiate himself from his father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The elder Marcos was ousted as president after a decades long reign marked by violence and massive corruption. His wife Imelda is famous for having over 3,000 pairs of designer shoes, part of a vast collection of wealth the Marcos family accrued before going into exile.

[Emily Fang]

Bong Bong, as the current president is nicknamed, is painting himself as a progressive leader, especially in the war on drugs. His office did not respond to a request for comment for the story. But President Marcos Jr did hold a press conference in April of 2024 when the police had a huge drug bust and he pointed out there that the police did so without killing anyone.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

Not one person died.

[Tin]

Marcos Jr also wants to focus more on drug rehabilitation, setting up more local treatment clinics to treat addicts, not kill them.

[Aisha Rascoe]

This is the Sunday story. Stay with us.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

Do you have outpatient cases?

[Tin]

Today I paid a visit to this public rehab clinic in Manila, one of the most established clinics the state funds. At any given time it might have two or three dozen inpatient cases, people brought in by their families or more commonly ordered by the court to serve part of their sentence here rather than face potential death on the streets. The clinic offers addiction counseling and therapy and as one patient told me, moral counseling and so called social etiquette classes.

[Romeo Grutas]

Social etiquette means behavior that I should have, especially when I finish this program and I'm going outside world and how I will interact with other people efficiently. So I must learn how to interact properly.

[Tin]

We can't use his name because he's still a patient and protected by medical data laws. He says he was sent to the clinic after turning himself in. He said he was using lsd, cocaine and marijuana and knew the police were tailing him already.

[Romeo Grutas]

First of all, I might be killed or I might be arrested. That's why I asked for help from my parents. I told them, mom, dad, I have a problem.

[Tin]

The man's doctor is Dr. Jose Bienvenido. He runs this clinic and is at the forefront of the country's efforts to mainstream drug rehabilitation. But of course, the extrajudicial killings of the last eight years have made people fearful of coming forward.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

Social stigma will always be there. So we try to educate and teach people, let them learn that our drug users are victims and their patients. It's a medical condition that we can help them through it. That stigma should not be there. It's going to take a while. It's going to be continuous.

[Tin]

Dr. Bienvenido is cautiously hopeful at the turn in policy under Marcos, but says.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

They need more support in terms of drug rehabilitation centers. It's still the same. No additional funding has been given, but we are lobbying for additional funds and infrastructure.

[Tin]

And.

[Dr. Jose Bienvenido]

When you produce them, you need to train them for specializations like in drug rehab. They have to be trained in addiction medicine. There's very few trainings. We have to go abroad for that.

[Tin]

So rehab as a policy will take years to implement. And there's been a lack of judicial oversight. The number of court cases that successfully found a police officer guilty of extrajudicial killings, or EJKs, is in the single digits. The Philippines left the International criminal court in 2019 after the court said it would investigate EJK's.

[Emily Fang]

Perhaps the biggest complication, however, is people here still support former President Duterte. Duterte and his daughter Sarah remain highly influential.

[Romeo Grutas]

Yeah, I love him.

[Tin]

Even by drug users themselves, like this other patient we met at the rehab clinic, a former scuba diving instructor caught last year for dealing large amounts of shabu. We're not naming him because of medical privacy laws as well.

[Romeo Grutas]

I feel in my case, when my country is safe with him, I just feel good at him. I just feel he's real man.

[Tin]

This is despite the fact that he says he's had friends shot dead for selling drugs, and he could have met this same fate.

[Emily Fang]

What about people who. Who were killed under the war on drugs? Did you see that as an issue or feel unsafe because of that?

[Romeo Grutas]

Maybe that's why I can say some of these mistakes is maybe it's a mistake, but it's a people's choice.

[Tin]

They did that as in it's the victim's fault. They should have known the price of doing drugs was potential execution.

[Romeo Grutas]

They already know. Our president already warned them war on drugs. He gave time he warned, but it's people's choice. They did steal. They do what they want. So maybe that's. That's also get back. In return, I thank you.

[Tin]

I also went to Nuvotas, a slum neighborhood outside Metro Manila that has had one of the highest concentrations of killings underte along this sewage clogged river In Navotas, residents show me where a 17 year old boy named Jemboy Baltazar was shot to death by police last August during the second year of Marcos presidency. Jemboy had been with a friend cleaning his fishing boat that morning when he was shot by police. His uncle dragged the body out of the water. Djemboy's father, Jesse Baltazar, also ran over when he heard the news.

[Romeo Grutas]

Nah.

[Tin]

He says he saw his son's body floating in the shallows of the river and cried to the police. I thought you said you'd only fired warning shots. Police later said they got an intel his son was in a combination accomplice to another crime and possibly selling drugs. Something a court leader found not true. But Baltazar's sister Jessa says casting the victims of extrajudicial killings as drug sellers is pervasive and is used so law enforcement avoid prosecution. She says when Jimboy's body was in the river, she saw someone kill connected to the police, tried to plant drugs on her brother's body.

[Emily Fang]

The Baltazars brought the police to court. Turns out the police had mistaken Jemboy for another guy. And Jemboy's case made national headlines when the five officers involved were fired, with one given an extremely rare sentence of four years in prison. Still, the family points out there is plenty wrong with the case. For example, the same police unit who killed Djemboy also investigated the killing.

[Tin]

The Balthazar family and the case's star witnesses are now in hiding. They fear the same police officers who killed Jemboy will take revenge on them. I visited them at their hiding place. It's peaceful by the ocean. Sonny Augustillo, Djemboy's childhood best friend who was in the boat with him when he was shot, is hiding here too. Just 20 years old, he says he does not know what his future holds. He says the police are like the gods of Novotas. They can just kill anyone. Djembwe's mother, Rhoda, says her only mission in life now is revenge. She says she cannot accept that Djemboy's killing was a mistake by the police. My son was shot 10 times, she says. If it were a mistake, he would have been shot once. But he was shot 10 times by different officers. How can you call that a mistake? And the cycle of violence continues. Less than a month after her son's funeral, Djemboy's friend, 20 year old Daniel Sariah, was shot dead by an unknown assailant, Daniel Soraya. Another death, and this time an unsolved murder. We met his mother, Irina Soraya, the night before what would have been her son's 21st birthday. She looked so young herself. Dyed blonde hair, flushed face, nervous hands. Zaray says, I could not believe my son was dead. It was like my world was ending. We were sitting next to the San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish Church, where several Catholic brothers and priests have set up a cooperative making votive candles to give the families of the dead some meaningful full employment. Despondent that she may never get justice with law enforcement, Sa has instead turned to the Catholic Church for solace as she tells us her story. The women around her cluck in sympathy while they shape votive candles. They're melting and shaping raw wax and cutting candle with. Every one of them has lost loved ones in the war against drugs. One of them, who everyone calls Mother Marianne, cannot hold herself back. Marianne says things are the same.

[Emily Fang]

Even though we've changed presidents, the culture is still the same, as is the.

[Tin]

Culture of impunity in the police and the government. It's the status quo. Soraya is silent. I don't think she has the energy to agree or disagree. She shuffles the bags of rice noodles with her, her son's favorite snacks. She had actually been on her way to his grave to wish him a happy birthday before she sat down with me.

[Emily Fang]

But she stays a bit, starting to.

[Tin]

Make votive candles, even though she's not yet officially part of the cooperative. The week before, she tells me, she submitted her application to join the circle of grieving women. The application is being processed. Candle making is a way for her to make some extra cash and to be around people who give her comfort because they've been through the same kind of pain. This is where she thinks she belongs now.

[Aisha Rascoe]

There's so much grief there, just really unimaginable as a mother to lose your child. Something that sticks with me about this story is just the feeling of powerlessness that these family members feel about the safety of their loved ones. You know, whether they are drug users or sellers or not, because it could all be so arbitrary, like with Jimboy.

[Tin]

Just a case of mistaken identity, right? Yeah.

[Aisha Rascoe]

I mean, so zooming out for a moment. What, if anything, has, like international schools scrutiny in the wake of Duterte's presidency done for the victims and their families?

[Tin]

There has not been much done.

[Emily Fang]

The International Criminal Court did open a.

[Tin]

Probe on the war on drugs, but.

[Emily Fang]

No one has been charged. Marcos is not cooperating with the court and the Philippines is no longer part of the icc, actually, despite the fact that more than half of Filipinos in.

[Tin]

A recent poll said they are in.

[Emily Fang]

Favor of the court's investigation. Meanwhile, Duterte and his daughter Sarah, who is also a politician, remain highly influential.

[Tin]

From their base in Davao City.

[Emily Fang]

This is in the southern Philippines.

[Tin]

And listen, compared to the dozens of people a day who were being killed in 2016, 2017, during the height of the killing, the numbers of EJKs now are lower.

[Emily Fang]

But three to 400 people are still.

[Tin]

Being killed a year, and that's probably.

[Emily Fang]

Three to 400 people too many.

[Aisha Rascoe]

What also struck me was that there isn't a culture of rehabilitation in the Philippines yet. What they have instead is a culture of punishment. What are some of the challenges of shifting from punishment to rehabilitation?

[Tin]

One of the challenges is this normalization of violence.

[Emily Fang]

People become desensitized to it. They become more willing to tolerate brutal.

[Tin]

Policing policies because they think it may end this cyc of death and violence. But based on my reporting, I don't think it does well.

[Aisha Rascoe]

Emily, thank you for bringing us this story.

[Tin]

Thanks so much for having me. Aisha, how did the current president of.

[Aisha Rascoe]

The Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Come to power? Our friends over at Throughline made an episode telling the story of the Marcos family, one of the Philippines most infamous political families, and how they rewrote history to come back to power in 2022 despite being overthrown decades ago. It's about how melodrama and nostalgia can create a myth capable of resurrecting a dynasty. And it's got a lot to say about the dangers democracies around the world are facing. You don't want to miss it. Listen to Throughline wherever you get your podcast. This episode was produced by Justine Yan and edited by Jenny Schmidt. Thanks to Marguerite Rosas and Ashley Westerman. Our audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. The Sunday Story team also includes Abby Windle and Andrew Mambo. Our supervising producer is Liana Simstrom and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up first is back tomorrow with all the news. You need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.