Mother of 4 sons lost to drug war to testify

MANILA, Philippines — A 72-year-old mother who lost all four of her teenage sons in separate killings in Davao City will testify today during the third hearing of the independent civilian Truth Commission. Clarita Alia, a vegetable vendor, is expected to recount how her sons were allegedly killed “one by one” after refusing to allow a police officer to arrest her eldest son without a warrant in 2001, the commission said. Richard, 18, was killed on July 17, 2001. His brother Christopher, 16, was killed three months later. Bobby, 14, was killed on Nov. 3, 2002, followed by 15-year-old Fernando on April 13, 2007. All perpetrators were unidentified. Alia said her sons had run-ins with the police, but being merely suspects, she said they should have been arrested and not killed. After two decades, Human Rights Watch said the killings of the Alia siblings had not reached the courts and the “killers remain free.” The truth body said the alleged killings in Davao City served as the template for former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war when he assumed office in 2016.