What is *Some People Need Killing* by Patricia Evangelista about?

*Some People Need Killing* is a memoir and investigative report on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal anti-drug campaign, documenting state-sanctioned killings and vigilante violence from 2016-2022. Patricia Evangelista, a trauma journalist, immerses readers in the psychological and societal impact of extrajudicial murders, chronicling survivors’ stories and perpetrators’ twisted justifications. The title引用s a vigilante’s chilling rationale: “I’m not all bad. Some people need killing.”

Who should read *Some People Need Killing*?

This book is essential for readers interested in human rights, Southeast Asian politics, or investigative journalism. It appeals to true crime enthusiasts seeking gritty, real-world accounts and scholars studying authoritarianism’s erosion of democracy. The graphic content and ethical questions make it suited for mature audiences grappling with moral ambiguities in governance.

Is *Some People Need Killing* worth reading?

Yes—it’s a critically acclaimed “journalistic masterpiece” (*The New Yorker*) and one of *TIME*’s top nonfiction books of 2023. Its unflinching examination of state violence, combined with Evangelista’s lyrical prose, offers profound insights into fear, complicity, and resistance under tyranny.

What does the phrase “some people need killing” mean in the book?

The title引用s a vigilante’s defense of his actions during Duterte’s drug war, reflecting widespread desensitization to violence. This mantra rationalized murder as public service, exposing how dehumanizing rhetoric enabled ordinary citizens to justify atrocities.

How does Patricia Evangelista’s background inform the book’s perspective?

As a trauma journalist and *Rappler* reporter, Evangelista spent six years embedding with killers, survivors, and activists. Her Pulitzer Center-supported investigations and awards like the Kate Webb Prize ground the narrative in rigor and empathy, blending reportage with intimate storytelling.

What critiques exist about *Some People Need Killing*?

While praised for its bravery, some note the unrelenting brutality may overwhelm readers. Others highlight its narrow focus on Manila-centric accounts, though this intentional choice amplifies systemic patterns over isolated incidents.

How does the book explain Duterte’s rise to power?

Evangelista traces Duterte’s populist appeal to public frustration with crime and corruption, juxtaposing his “strongman” image with the human cost of his policies. She analyzes how media manipulation and disinformation fueled acceptance of state-sanctioned murder.

What role do vigilantes play in the Philippine drug war?

The book揭露s collusion between police and vigilante groups, who often carried out executions to bypass legal scrutiny. Evangelista documents how economic desperation and ideological indoctrination turned civilians into ruthless actors.

Some People Need Killing

A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines

Patricia Evangelista

4.2(8824 Reviews)

Overview of Some People Need Killing

Patricia Evangelista's award-winning memoir exposes Duterte's brutal drug war through unflinching interviews with victims' families and killers themselves. Named among NYT's best books of 2023, this haunting chronicle asks: When does a nation normalize murder? "I'm not all bad. Some people need killing."

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Chapter 1

When Justice Bleeds: Inside Duterte's Reign of Terror

In a country where the president proudly declares "I am the death squad," Patricia Evangelista's "Some People Need Killing" offers a harrowing journey through the Philippines' drug war. This unflinching chronicle has become required reading for human rights advocates worldwide, with Amal Clooney calling it "essential testimony of our time." The book's raw power comes from Evangelista's unique position - not as a foreign correspondent parachuting into chaos, but as a Filipino journalist documenting her own nation's descent into state-sanctioned violence. As President Rodrigo Duterte's death toll mounted between 2016 and 2022, Evangelista followed the blood trails through Manila's darkest corners, revealing how a democracy can embrace extrajudicial killing while its citizens applaud.

Chapter 2

The Killing Fields of Manila

When Rodrigo Duterte took office as Philippine president in 2016, the Philippine Daily Inquirer began "the Kill List" - a public record of those murdered in his war on drugs. The entries were numbered, chronological, and methodical. "Unknown hitmen" became a common phrase in reports, with victims consistently labeled as drug suspects. The killings were targeted, as Duterte had promised, against "people who would threaten to destroy my country." As a field correspondent for Rappler, I documented these deaths until security concerns forced me to flee Manila. The methods varied wildly - men abducted from homes, bodies found in canals, people shot in bedrooms or in front of schools. A new vocabulary emerged: "drug-related deaths," "salvagings," "extrajudicial killings." None were officially attributed to police. The stories of victims like five-year-old Danica Mae, killed by a bullet meant for her grandfather, haunted me. Fourteen-year-old Christine watched police force her father to kneel on an armchair before shooting him at close range. She blamed herself for letting go when they threw her against the wall, believing if she had held him tighter, he might have lived. Love-Love's parents had surrendered to authorities during Duterte's anti-drug campaign, believing this would keep them safe. One night, masked men burst into their home at 3 AM, declaring "Positive" over her sleeping father. When he awoke with a baby on his chest, they shot him in the head. Love-Love bravely stood between the gunmen and her mother, demanding they kill her instead. One gunman was restrained by another - "Don't shoot, she's only a child." Before killing her mother, the gunman declared "We are Duterte." Unlike foreign correspondents who can escape to safety, Filipino journalists inhabit the disaster zones we cover. We understand the cultural nuances: the guilt of Catholic fathers who couldn't protect their sons, the desperate hospitality of impoverished widows. The language fails as body counts rise - blood simply sits in pools or streams in rivulets. "Dead" becomes the most reliable word - concrete, verifiable.

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Chapter 3

Democracy's Dark Turn

Until Duterte's election, I believed in democracy as more than just government - as a community that condemned brutality. I didn't understand that my version of democracy was shared only by a minority. Duterte reimagined the Philippines as lawless badlands where addicts were armed threats and bureaucracy was the enemy. He promised salvation through violence: "Fuck the bleeding hearts," no second chances, just a loaded gun. The Philippines' journey to this moment began centuries ago. After Ferdinand Magellan claimed the islands for Spain in 1521 (before being killed by Chief Lapulapu), centuries of colonial rule followed. When Filipinos finally fought for independence from Spain in 1898, America intervened, purchasing the Philippines for $20 million and suppressing the Filipino republic with military force. My grandfather Mario Chanco's life spanned this complex history. Born to privilege in Manila during American occupation, he survived WWII when his family faced hardship under Japanese occupation. As a witness to atrocities, he later became a celebrated journalist known for his wit and "disgracefully humorous" writing style. His story connects personal heritage to the broader colonial experience, showing how San Chang Co's descendants transitioned from Chinese immigrants to English-speaking American subjects to citizens of an independent Philippines. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was elected president, falsely claiming to be "the most decorated war hero in the Philippines." When his constitutional term limits approached in 1972, he declared martial law, silencing critics and the free press. The Marcos dictatorship lasted fourteen years with American support, marked by corruption, imprisonment of 70,000 people, torture of 34,000, and over 3,000 extrajudicial killings. Opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. returned to the Philippines in 1983 after three years in the United States, despite knowing the risks. Military officers escorted him from the plane, and gunshots rang out. A witness later testified: "it was a soldier who shot Ninoy." His assassination galvanized opposition to Marcos, with four million people marching in his funeral procession. The 1986 People Power Revolution transformed Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) from a highway into a battlefield where Filipinos stood against Marcos's tanks. Despite armed troops with grenade launchers and machine guns, the people refused to run-they pressed their palms against hot metal, prayed, and held the line. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii, and Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as president. For many Filipinos like me, EDSA became a foundational myth-"one part myth, two parts magic"-that shaped our national identity.

Chapter 4

The Punisher Rises

Rodrigo Duterte cultivated an image as a common man despite his privileged background. Though he portrayed himself as "born poor," he was actually the son of a provincial governor, raised with bodyguards, cooks, and drivers in a politically connected family. Young "Rody" was a troubled youth who skipped school, joined gangs, drank with his father's police bodyguards, and got into fights. At 27, he shot a fraternity brother named Octavio Goco who had bullied him over his Visayan accent-an incident he later boasted about, though Goco survived. Despite mediocre academic performance, Duterte became a prosecutor through political connections when his mother approached her late husband's colleague for help. His political career began when his mother Soledad "Soling" Duterte, who had led the Yellow Friday Movement against Marcos, declined the position of OIC vice-mayor of Davao City and suggested her son instead. The Davao that Duterte inherited in 1986 was known as "murder city" and "crime capital," a sprawling urban landscape plagued by violence, poverty, and Communist insurgency. During his second term as mayor, a new pattern of killings emerged targeting petty criminals and drug users. A group that came to be known as the Davao Death Squad (DDS) emerged, composed largely of "former New People's Army partisans and some policemen." Despite finding human remains at the Laud quarry burial site, the Commission on Human Rights' 2012 report could only conclude there was "circumstantial evidence" of the DDS's existence. The Coalition Against Summary Executions documented 1,424 deaths attributable to the DDS between 1998 and 2015, noting a lull when Duterte was in Congress and spikes during his mayoral terms. Two key witnesses later emerged. Edgardo Matobato, a self-confessed DDS hitman who claimed to have killed at least fifty people, testified that Duterte ordered killings. Police Chief Master Sergeant Arturo Lascanas initially denied these claims but later recanted after a religious awakening. Lascanas eventually confessed to numerous murders on Duterte's orders, including mosque bombings, the killing of a journalist, and executions of drug dealers. Despite these testimonies, Duterte maintained there was no need for a death squad since he "had a police department," though he had previously stated "Am I the death squad? True. That is true."

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Chapter 5

The Duterte Defense Squad

"Where I come from, most of the people were Duterte," Ann Valdez explained about her hometown. The statement was telling-residents didn't just support Duterte, they identified as him, embodying his values and worldview completely. For Ann, to be Duterte was to belong after a lifetime of searching for family connection. At twenty-five, she finally found the father figure she'd been seeking since childhood. She called him Father and proudly identified as DDS-not Davao Death Squad, but Diehard Duterte Supporter. The Duterte political dynasty had dominated Davao City for decades, circumventing term limits through family succession. This dynastic control was so complete that "Davao meant Duterte and Duterte meant Davao." The Duterte Defense Squad emerged after Sara Duterte punched a sheriff during a demolition dispute, with the rallying cry "WE DEFEND OUR MAYOR." This movement evolved into numerous variations-Digong Duterte Supporters, Duterte's Destiny's to Service to the Country, and ultimately Diehard Duterte Supporters. Rodrigo Duterte's path to presidential candidacy was characterized by a prolonged public performance of reluctance spanning almost two years. Despite saying "no" thirteen times in public statements, each refusal making headlines, he simultaneously outlined presidential promises. When the filing deadline passed in October 2015, his party fielded Martin Dino instead, who later withdrew. A quirk in election law allowed for substitution, and Duterte finally announced his candidacy. At campaign rallies, Duterte unleashed his unfiltered rhetoric to cheering crowds. He boasted about his sexual exploits, threatened drug users with death, and promised to order military and police to kill every addict in the country. He dismissed concerns from human rights activists and Congress, threatening to send tanks if they challenged him. He pointed to Davao's safety as proof his methods worked, assuring "law-abiding, God-fearing citizens" they had nothing to fear.

Chapter 6

The War Begins

Duterte won the presidency by four million votes while human rights lawyer Leni Robredo narrowly defeated Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vice president. At his noon inauguration, Duterte delivered a surprisingly statesmanlike address, quoting Lincoln and Roosevelt while promising due process and rule of law. But by evening, addressing the poor in Tondo's Delpan Sports Complex, he reverted to his campaign persona, threatening drug users: "If you do, I will kill you." Within hours, the first victim appeared-an unidentified man shot behind the ear, abandoned in a Tondo alley with a cardboard sign reading "I Am a Chinese Drug Lord." In Philippine English, "salvage" became a contronym meaning both "to save" and "to execute without trial"-a linguistic corruption born during Marcos's martial law era when extrajudicial killings became commonplace. The journalists who documented Duterte's drug war at night were dubbed "nightcrawlers" by foreign press. Vincent Go, whose own father was abducted and murdered when Vincent was eleven, captured one of the first victims: a body bound with duct tape, head stuffed in a black trash bag, abandoned on Delpan Bridge with a sign reading "Chinese Drug Lord Li Peng Hui." For photographer Raffy Lerma, his first night covering the drug war revealed a disturbing public bloodlust. At a crime scene in Pandacan, he witnessed a daughter unable to grieve openly for her father, killed and labeled a drug pusher, while bystanders cursed the dead. Later that night, he encountered another body bound in a sack with a warning sign. A lone woman screamed at the journalists, asking if they had hearts or consciences-"like she was the only one who made sense that night."

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Chapter 7

The Machinery of Death

President Duterte carefully avoided using the word "murder" while calling for drug suspects to be killed. He spoke of them being "wiped out," "slaughtered," thrown from helicopters, or hanged with barbed wire, but insisted this wasn't murder-it was war. Duterte distinguished between murder (killing a bound man begging for his life) and what he called necessary killing for the nation's protection. He repeatedly promised no police officer would spend a day in jail for performing their "duty to kill." According to Duterte, drug addicts could be identified by their physical appearance-particularly their damaged teeth. He claimed addicts are "smelly," don't bathe or sleep, and constantly grind their teeth, resulting in tooth loss. The president portrayed addicts as monsters beyond redemption, claiming they rape indiscriminately, kill without reason, and are "no longer viable as human beings." The president's claims about drug users were grossly inflated. While he insisted there were 3-8 million drug addicts, the government's own Dangerous Drugs Board estimated only 1.8 million current drug users in 2015-a figure consistent with previous years and below global averages. When DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes publicly acknowledged this discrepancy, the president fired him, declaring "You do not contradict your own government." In July 2016, the Philippine National Police launched the drug war through Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016. The operation, called Project Double Barrel, targeted both high-value suspects and street-level users. The second component, "Tokhang"-a portmanteau of Visayan words meaning "knock" and "plead"-involved police visiting suspected drug users' homes to persuade them to surrender. While officially described as an invitation rather than a demand, the president's rhetoric made clear the deadly consequences for those who "resisted." The word "nanlaban" (fought back) became police justification for killing. "Nanlaban siya"-"he fought back"-appeared in countless reports explaining deaths during police operations. The phrase became both judgment and justification, a shorthand for those who "deserved what they got."

Chapter 8

Inside the Killing Machine

Buy-bust operations followed a predictable pattern in police reports. After surveillance, an undercover officer posed as a drug buyer to catch dealers in the act. Police reports used consistent language-"consummated transaction" followed by arrest. When suspects died, reports invariably claimed they "sensed the presence of lawmen" before drawing weapons, leading to fatal shootouts. This narrative appeared with suspicious regularity across countless reports, despite statistically improbable outcomes. On August 15, 2017, police in Bulacan province conducted sixty-seven operations resulting in thirty-two deaths within twenty-four hours. Each report followed the same template: suspects "sensed" they were dealing with police, drew weapons, and were killed in the ensuing firefight. Despite claiming multiple gunfights, police reported zero injuries among their ranks and a 100% kill rate of suspects who "resisted"-a statistically impossible outcome suggesting systematic execution rather than legitimate encounters. The day after thirty-two citizens died at the hands of state agents in Bulacan, President Duterte addressed the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption at Malacanang Palace. Rather than expressing concern over the bloodshed, he declared "Thirty-two died early in Bulacan in a massive raid. Maganda 'yun"-"That's beautiful." His approval came while presenting his "narco list" of public servants allegedly involved in illegal drugs. According to President Duterte, killing drug addicts requires following procedure: being on duty, having a warrant, announcing police authority, and attempting arrest. When suspects resist, officers must overcome resistance. If the suspect appears armed, officers must shoot. The president's doctrine relies on "presumption of regularity"-the legal principle that official actions are presumed proper unless proven otherwise. "It's your duty to kill," Duterte instructed police, adding they could "kill them legally" rather than illegally. Police spokespeople offered contradictory justifications for the killings. While claiming addicts naturally resist and must be killed, they simultaneously boasted that millions of suspects surrendered peacefully-proof, they argued, that extrajudicial killings weren't state-sponsored. This contradiction revealed the fundamental flaw in the presumption of regularity: to kill legally required making an irrevocable connection between addicts and guns-a connection the president reinforced in speech after speech until it became accepted as normal.

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Chapter 9

The Faces Behind the Numbers

Efren Morillo, a fruit vendor and father of two, survived what should have been his execution. Shot in the chest during a police operation, he played dead as Police Staff Sergeant Allan Formilleza killed his friend Marcelo Daa just steps away. After the officers left, Morillo threw himself down a ravine and eventually found help on a highway. When police discovered him, they handcuffed him to his hospital bed and charged him with assault. His family sold their house to pay for bail and medical expenses. With pro bono help from the Center for International Law, Morillo filed criminal charges against the officers for frustrated murder, murder, robbery, and planting evidence. Physicians for Human Rights conducted independent forensic analyses that supported Morillo's account. On March 17, 2023, five years after the shooting, a Quezon City court acquitted Efren Morillo of assaulting police officers. The court determined that the presumption of innocence outweighed the presumption of regularity in police operations. Morillo's case exposed the falsehoods only because of a single "irregularity" in the drug war's fatal police encounters-he had survived. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Domingo ran Police Station 6 in Manila's Santa Ana district from a casual, workmanlike office. Short, square and solid, he proudly served under Duterte's administration, appreciating the president's support for police and the resulting safer streets. Domingo boasted that his patrols had cleared neighborhoods of troublemakers, allowing even his teenage son to roam safely at night. Domingo proudly recounted the takedown of "Buwaya" (Crocodile), allegedly the most dangerous criminal in Santa Ana. According to police, Buwaya was a six-foot-tall menace who terrorized neighbors, fired guns recklessly, and continued selling drugs despite the war on drugs. "He didn't believe in Tokhang," Domingo explained. "So, we encountered him." In police parlance, "encountered" is a euphemism for killing. According to Domingo, Buwaya's death followed democratic process. Residents of Village 767 had gathered at a basketball court to anonymously vote on who were the drug dealers in their community. Buwaya topped the list. But court documents tell a different story. Valerie, Buwaya's partner, testified that armed men burst into their bedroom, dragged her downstairs despite Ryan's (Buwaya's real name) pleas as he stripped to prove he was unarmed, then shot him twice. She claimed police planted evidence, took photos "for the cameras," and extorted 30,000 from her family before jailing her.

Chapter 10

The Hidden Hand of Vigilantes

In January 2017, the murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo by police officers exposed the corruption within Duterte's drug war. Jee had been abducted from his home on a fake drug bust, strangled at police headquarters, and his body cremated while officers extorted ransom from his wife. The international scandal forced Duterte to temporarily suspend police participation in the drug war and admit corruption within the force. For the first time in seven months, the death toll-which had reached 7,080-stopped climbing. Even vigilante killings ceased, revealing the connection between police operations and supposedly independent extrajudicial killings. After the drug war's suspension damaged credibility, authorities highlighted vigilante activity. PNP chief Dela Rosa presented the Confederate Sentinels Group (CSG), a "civilian volunteer organization" that had become vigilantes killing robbery suspects. They murdered sixteen-year-old Charlie Saladaga, shooting him in the face and dumping his body in a sack. The press conference aimed to dispel accusations that police were behind extrajudicial killings. However, not all killers were arrested, and some spoke to me about their involvement in state-sanctioned murders for bounties ranging from 30,000 to 100,000 per kill. Angel, a vigilante I interviewed in a motel, revealed that the CSG press conference was "putting on a show" while knowing the arrested men "were their men on the ground." Under Commander Maning's orders, Angel joined CSG to "clean out thieves and drug dealers." CSG Chapter 2 in Tondo had 20-40 members-garbage collectors, drivers, security guards-who considered themselves soldiers in Duterte's drug war. Commander Maning set bounties ranging from 30,000-100,000 per kill, split among team members. "The police knew," Angel insisted. "We couldn't have operated if they didn't know." Another killer, whom I called Simon, described himself as an ordinary religious man with a family who believed Duterte was right that addicts should die. The group targeted meth users, drug runners, thieves, and even unfaithful husbands, killing about twenty people in seven months. "After Duterte was elected, the killing was automatic," Simon said. Though claiming he was never paid, he stayed because he believed in the cause: "Some people need killing." The vigilantes operated confidently, knowing police would release them if they mentioned Commander Maning's name. Four sources claimed a specific police commander had ordered extrajudicial killings from late 2016 to early 2017. When a journalist revealed the name to me, I was shocked-it was my friend Domingo, Station 1 chief. According to the vigilantes, Domingo outsourced murders to CSG Chapter 2, providing target lists and ensuring police wouldn't interfere. "It was Domingo," Angel confirmed, pointing to his photo. My friend never told me if he ordered the killings.

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Chapter 11

When the Camera Captures Truth

Rodrigo Duterte wasn't the first politician to declare war on a domestic issue, but unlike metaphorical "wars" on poverty or hunger, when Duterte declared war on drugs and said "kill," he meant it literally. Despite some dissent from lawyers, priests and activists, most Filipinos continued their normal lives as the death toll mounted. For those in privileged areas, death remained an abstraction-until December 2020, when everything changed. An eleven-second video captured the final confrontation between off-duty police officer Jonel Nuezca and the Gregorios. After a brief moment when peace seemed possible, Nuezca taunted Anton ("You be the cop so you can get a gun"), while Sonya refused to let her son be taken. The situation escalated when Nuezca's twelve-year-old daughter shoved Sonya and proudly declared "My father is a policeman!" When Sonya mockingly responded with a singsong "I don't care-eh-eh-eh," Nuezca snapped. Four gunshots rang out in less than five seconds-leaving both Sonya and Anton dead on the ground while the cop and his daughter calmly walked away. The video flooded cyberspace with millions of views, triggering widespread outrage with hashtags like #StoptheKillingsPH and #CopsareTerrorists trending. Journalists who had covered the drug war for years expressed frustration at those suddenly shocked by police violence when similar killings had occurred for years without video evidence. Many journalists were angered not by the violence itself-a constant presence for years-but by those expressing sudden indignation after ignoring a "four-year parade of coffins." Within 24 hours of the shooting, police leadership and government officials rushed to distance themselves from Nuezca. The cop surrendered an hour after the murders, and was quickly condemned by the Tarlac police chief, interior secretary, and PNP Chief Debold Sinas, who assured the public "the PNP does not and will never condone any criminal act." In a televised address, President Duterte called Nuezca "an isolated case" who was "sick in the head." The government successfully recast Nuezca as an exception rather than representative of police culture, with Duterte declaring the officer should be jailed and even suggesting he be "fried alive."

Chapter 12

The Legacy of Blood

Thirty-six years after the EDSA Revolution that overthrew Ferdinand Marcos, I stand on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue observing what should be a commemoration but feels more like a wake. The Philippines has come full circle: from Ferdinand Magellan who claimed the islands for Spain, to Ferdinand Marcos who bled the nation as dictator, to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now taking his oath of office while Ferdinand Marcos III waits in the wings. Jubilant crowds celebrate at Marcos-Duterte campaign headquarters on the very avenue where citizens once marched to overthrow the dictator. The war on drugs leaves countless victims like Rene Desierto, found on a bridge with packing tape wrapped around his head and a cardboard sign reading "Drug Pusher. Do Not Imitate." His wife Ivy identifies him by his feet, begging police to let her touch him. The investigator struggles to cut through the tape mask, revealing a face with a thin dark line across the neck-Rene had been stabbed nineteen times and garroted. Then there's Djastin "with a D," whose mother used to carry him through floods to the hospital when he seized, shot dead at twenty-five on railroad tracks gasping "Mama, help me." The Ocdin family lost three brothers to Duterte's war-Mark Andy being the last, killed on the final Sunday of Duterte's presidency. The Ocdins had learned all the rituals of death: which hospital handled gunshot wounds, which councilor would lend a tent for the wake, where to buy balloons stamped "We Love You Mark Andy," and how to fit multiple bodies into a single cemetery niche. The Filipino greeting "Mabuhay"-meaning "to live"-takes on grim irony in a nation where extrajudicial killings became policy. While presented to tourists as a warm welcome, in Manila during Duterte's reign it became both wisdom and warning: "I hope you live." Vincent, a photojournalist who documented at least 990 killings after Duterte took office, tells me he might have supported Duterte if the president had truly focused on killing the corrupt rather than drug users, whom Vincent sees as victims of disease. The vigilante's phrase "Some people need killing" reveals the moral calculus of Duterte's Philippines. It's an active sentence where the subject is "people" and the verb is "need"-suggesting they earned their deaths, removing accountability from those who pulled triggers. But "kill" is transitive-someone killed Djastin Lopez. The direct line from order to trigger to bullet to death can be drawn straight. I recall Ninoy Aquino's words: "Is the Filipino worth suffering, or even dying, for?" He concluded yes, because Filipinos are brave, value life, are patient and dignified. But what of those deemed criminals and addicts? What of those who voted for killers? Are they worth dying for? The question hangs unanswered while the mayor's brutal philosophy counters: "The Filipino is worth killing for. The dead do not count."

★★★★★

You made it to the end of Some People Need Killing

“23 days in and I have used it every single day. It is part of my daily habit now.”

jayallen

Key Themes in Some People Need Killing

extrajudicial killings
state-sanctioned violence
democratic backsliding
drug war atrocities
authoritarian populism

Quotes from Some People Need Killing

I am the death squad.
We are Duterte.
Fuck the bleeding hearts.
it was a soldier who shot Ninoy.
Don't shoot, she's only a child.

Characters in Some People Need Killing

Patricia EvangelistaFilipino journalist and author of the chronicle
Rodrigo DutertePresident of the Philippines and drug war architect
Mario ChancoCelebrated journalist and the author's grandfather
Ferdinand MarcosFormer dictator who declared martial law in 1972
Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.Opposition leader whose assassination sparked reform

About the Author

Patricia Chanco Evangelista is an acclaimed trauma journalist and the author of Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country. She combines investigative rigor with frontline reporting to document political violence and human rights crises.

This memoir, blending narrative nonfiction with true crime analysis, draws from her nine years covering Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war for Rappler, where her award-winning “Impunity” series exposed systemic police collusion in extrajudicial killings.

A New America fellow and Yale Council on Southeast Asia Studies associate, Evangelista’s work has earned the Kate Webb Prize for dangerous-zone journalism and the 2024 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Her documentaries for ABS-CBN News Channel on disasters like Supertyphoon Haiyan received New York Festivals medals.

Some People Need Killing was named TIME’s #1 Nonfiction Book of 2023, a New York Times Top 10 pick, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—solidifying its status as a defining account of state-sanctioned violence.

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108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

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"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

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"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

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"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

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"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

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117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA

117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum

108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC

254

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful

4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon

201

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn

483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu

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Chapter 10

Some People Need Killing

OverviewOverview of Some People Need Killing

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Justice Bleeds: Inside Duterte's Reign of Terror

The Killing Fields of Manila

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Democracy's Dark Turn

The Punisher Rises

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The Duterte Defense Squad

The War Begins

See every word as you hear it

The Machinery of Death

Inside the Killing Machine

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The Faces Behind the Numbers

The Hidden Hand of Vigilantes

See every word as you hear it

When the Camera Captures Truth

The Legacy of Blood

You made it to the end of Some People Need Killing

Key Themes in Some People Need Killing

Quotes from Some People Need Killing

Characters in Some People Need Killing

About the Author

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Part of a Learning Plan

Political Enforcers: Patterns of Fragility

Philippines History

Discover more

BeFreed Brings Together A Global Community Of Curious Minds

BeFreed Brings Together A Global Community Of Curious Minds

One book. Many ways to hear it.

When Justice Bleeds: Inside Duterte's Reign of Terror

The Killing Fields of Manila

See every word as you hear it

Democracy's Dark Turn

The Punisher Rises

Get more out of Some People Need Killing

The Duterte Defense Squad

The War Begins

See every word as you hear it

The Machinery of Death

Inside the Killing Machine

Get more out of Some People Need Killing

The Faces Behind the Numbers

The Hidden Hand of Vigilantes

See every word as you hear it

When the Camera Captures Truth

The Legacy of Blood

You made it to the end of Some People Need Killing

Users also liked

Part of a Learning Plan

Political Enforcers: Patterns of Fragility

Philippines History

Discover more

Overview of Some People Need Killing