An Analysis of the Philippine Catholic Church’s Approach to President Duterte’s Drug War

Abstract

Institutional clashes are catalysts for sociopolitical change, as illustrated by the five-hundred-year history of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The church remains instrumental in the conscientization process after the EDSA People Power Revolution (1986). However, the challenge now facing the church—in particular, President Duterte’s “war on drugs”—requires a more resolute approach. This article examines the role of the Catholic Church beyond its institutional obligations. I argue that ecclesiastical movements in small communities, more than the pronouncements of institutional leaders, provide the moral voice for the church as it responds to the cries of ordinary citizens for social justice.