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Protesters and residents hold lighted candles and placards at the wake of Kian delos Santos, a 17-year-old high school student, who was among the people shot dead in an escalation of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in Caloocan city, Metro Manila, Philippines August 25, 2017. (Reuters/Dondi Tawatao/File Photo)The youngest known casualty of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “War on Drugs” was remembered following his arrest on Tuesday, March 11, under the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
“The one victim of the war on drugs on my mind now is Myca Ulpina, killed with her father in 2019,” the forensic expert said on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.
“She was only 3 [three] years old. The youngest I’ve seen,” Fortun added.
Another user on the platform responded with a picture of Ulpina who wore a sleeveless top with the word “pulis” or “police.”
“We look forward to serving you the justice you deserve, Myca. Nasimulan na at sana tuluy-tuloy na,” the online user said, reposting Fortun’s post.
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She had performed a re-autopsy on 17-year-old Kian delos Santos, who was killed by Caloocan police during the early days of the Duterte administration’s anti-narcotics campaign in 2017.
In Fortun’s examination of Delos Santos’ remains before, she had found a bullet lodged in his neck, which was a finding not present in past examinations of the Philippine National Police and the Public Attorney’s Office.
Meanwhile, Myca died during a police operation in Rodriguez, Rizal in June 2019.
Her mother, who chose to remain anonymous, told GMA News that they were asleep when the police raided their house, smashing their window in an attempt to arrest Renato Ulpina.
The mother added that they were not shown any documents proving the legality of the operation.
While she and her other children went upstairs, Myca stayed by her father’s side and was hit by a bullet.
Renato was also shot by the police.
Despite being rushed to the hospital, Myca died a day after the police operation.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, former PNP chief, previously described the incident as an unfortunate event but remarked, “shit happens.”
“But that does not mean to degrade the departed soul of that child,” he later clarified.
Duterte’s arrest is seen as a form of vindication for the families of the victims of his bloody anti-narcotics campaign, which left an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 people dead between July 2016 and March 2019, according to the ICC.
READ: Philippines sends ex-President Duterte to ICC over ‘drugs war’ killings | ICC confirms arrest warrant for ex-Philippine president Duterte
The government, however, only acknowledged around 6,248 deaths from the “War on Drugs.”
A human rights group reported that the Duterte admin’s brutal campaign resulted in the deaths of at least 122 children, who were allegedly killed either as direct targets, proxies, by mistake, or as “collateral damage.”
For years, the ICC has received complaints and testimonies from individuals and groups calling for Duterte’s indictment for thousands of deaths linked to his drug war.
The Philippines withdrew from the court’s foundational treaty, the Rome Statute, during Duterte’s term. However, the ICC may still investigate the alleged “crimes against humanity of murder” in the country, as these events occurred when Manila was still a party to the statute.
The ICC’s investigation also includes the Davao Death Squad (DDS) killings that occurred between Nov. 1, 2011, and June 30, 2016, during Duterte’s tenure as mayor and vice mayor of the city.
Duterte is now bound for the Hague, Netherlands hours after he was arrested.
ALSO READ: ‘Thank you, ICC’: Pinoys express gratitude after Duterte’s arrest over drug war crimes
