Local research problems, approaches and progress of the SDG.

Back in 2016, at the start of the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, he promised to abolish drug abuse in the Philippines through his ‘War on Drugs’ campaign. From 2016 to 2022, there have been 6,252 documented cases of extrajudicial executions performed by law enforcement under this campaign, with thousands of cases more committed by unknown gunmen (HRW, 2024). The victims are not limited to people undergoing drug abuse, as protesters of the campaign have been killed due to opposing the government’s program. After President Ferdinand ‘BongBong’ Marcos succeeded former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine government ceased tracking these extrajudicial killings. It is unknown how many more victims have fallen to this unjustified use of force by the police due to the government covering up these cases. It is also difficult for family members of the victims to seek justice, as police departments are actively falsifying and tampering with evidence of active cases to justify these actions.

It is no secret that corruption is rampant in the Philippines. Politicians seek monetary gain at the taxpayer’s expense, resulting in inefficient use of funds on development projects, poor quality of infrastructure, and overall poor living conditions for most of the population. 18.1% of Filipinos fall under the poverty line (ADB, 2021). Yet, powerful and wealthy people frequently flaunt their riches, giving gifts to fellow rich politicians, such as in the case of Apollo Quiboloy. Apollo Quiboloy founded the restorationist group, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Quiboloy has been charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of children, fraud and coercion, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling (FBI, n.d), primarily performed on members of his religious group. He has been accused by former members of abusing his power to gain favors from the group’s members, mostly revolving around sexual pleasure. Despite all these allegations, Quiboloy is associated with some of the most prominent figures in the country, such as former president Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte has admitted to maintaining contact and even receiving gifts from Quiboloy, such as land and cars (Corrales, 2016). Despite being on the FBI’s most wanted list, Quiboloy seems to be uncapturable. For years, Quiboloy has been in hiding in the country, all while multiple charges are being pressed on him. By now, it is reasonable to expect the government to have taken steps to try and locate the criminal, but it seems that there has been no progress on that front, even after multiple years. The DOJ has confirmed that Quiboloy is still in the country (Esguerra, 2024). So, it must be brought into question how such an infamous figure can stay hidden for this long.