town located on one of the Philippines’ islands. She was shot in the face in front of her children by unknown men who had unexpectedly and forcibly entered the front door of the home. Two of her children described the men as wearing masks, therefore unverifiable to anyone. Julie was a former drug user in years past, a fact known by everyone who lived in the tiny town. Despite having been clean for more than five years, a dark cloud shadowed her every move, especially since tensions were at an all-time high in the country. We pleaded her to stay out of the town as much as possible but she had decided to return to say hello to our uncle, who was visiting from the States.

In a largersense, she was just a piece of what was happening in the Philippines. Dubbed “Trump of the East,” President Rodrigo Duterte had been making headlines since he was elected president in May 2016. He ran on a platform where he connected with the everyday man, promising to take the power back to the people. Duterte won the presidential election with an estimated 16 million votes out of a total of 54 million registered voters. Known as the “The Punisher,” Duterte first led the city of Davao against crime and corruption through violent means. Under his tenure as mayor, what was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world had allegedly became one of the safer cities in the world based on a user generated survey.

According to