MANILA, Philippines — A forensic pathologist said Friday that her examination of the exhumed remains of an alleged victim of the drug war under former president Rodrigo Duterte uncovered more skull fractures that she classified as "perimortem, or occurring at or around the time of death."
Dr. Raquel Fortun presented her findings during the first public session of the Philippine Drug War Truth Commission at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center on United Nations Avenue in Manila on Friday.
The commission’s first session featured on Raymart, Siapo, 18, who was abducted and killed in Navotas City on March 29, 2017, an alleged victim of the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) attributed to the former president.
“A lot more fractures as we documented it and as seen in the photographs,” Fortun said.
The original autopsy report listed gunshot wounds to the head as Siapo’s cause of death and described three gunshot wounds.
Fortun questioned portions of the report, particularly the lack of detailed photographs, diagrams, and descriptions of the reported wounds and recovered bullets.
“Where are the pictures? Where are your drawings?” she said.
Fortun said she could not determine exactly how many times Siapo was shot based on the remains available to her.
“I don't know how many times he was shot. Probably more than one,” she said.
She also said the incomplete condition of the remains, including missing portions of the jaw and feet, limited the forensic team’s examination.
Luzviminda Siapo, mother of the victim, recalled the events shortly before her son’s death, including a dispute with a neighbor that was brought before the barangay on March 28, 2017.
She said the neighbor accused her son of selling marijuana, an allegation she denied.
Luzviminda said that her son was still alive the following day, March 29, when the parties discussed the matter at the barangay.
She later received a message from a relative saying, “Tiil, patay na.”
“Tiil” was Siapo's nickname, a reference to his clubfoot, according to his mother.
The message was followed by a photograph showing her son bloodied, she said, which prompted her to seek confirmation of his death.
Mother addresses former president during testimony
During the hearing, Luzviminda expressed frustration over omissions in the initial medico-legal report, stating that these gaps prompted her to request the exhumation and re-examination of her son’s remains.
She also recounted that both she and her son had supported then-candidate Duterte in the 2016 presidential election.
“He was really the candidate I wanted to vote for as well,” Luzviminda said in Filipino, quoting her son. “Because, Ma, he [Duterte] was for the poor. Did you see his platform on drugs? He ate out in public, he was such a simple president, Ma.”
Reading from a statement she wrote for the hearing, Luzviminda directly criticized the former president, accusing his administration's anti-drug campaign of leading to her son's death without due process.
“You destroyed the dreams of our children,” she said in Filipino. “I believed that when you became president, the country’s trajectory might improve... I believed you wanted to eradicate drugs, but it was all wrong. You deceived me and my son.”
Luzviminda also described the atmosphere of fear among communities during the anti-drug campaign, stating that people hesitated to offer assistance.
“Why, during the time of the war on drugs, was there no one to defend us?” she read from her letter. “People were afraid. They were afraid to talk to us because they worried they would also be accused of protecting drug users or be viewed as addicts themselves.”
She alleged that the campaign targeted vulnerable individuals and youth rather than high-level drug operations.
Concluding her statement, Luzviminda addressed those behind the campaign, stating that political power and wealth are temporary.
“Power and millions will all be left behind when you die. Everything will fade away,” she said.
