A 72-year-old mother who lost all four of her teenage sons in separate killings in Davao City is set to testify before the Truth Commission on Friday, Sept. 25 as it continues to hear accounts from families of victims of the drug war.
Clarita Alia, a vegetable vendor at the Bankerohan Public Market in Davao City, will recount how she lost her four sons over a six-year period after a police officer allegedly warned her in 2001 that her children would be killed “one by one.”
Alia said the warning came after she refused to allow the officer to take her eldest son without a warrant.
Weeks later, her 18-year-old son Richard was stabbed to death.
Three more of her sons were killed in the succeeding years.
More than two decades later, Alia continues to seek answers and accountability for the deaths of her children.
She is scheduled to testify at the Truth Commission’s third public session starting at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Plenary Hall of the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center on United Nations Avenue in Manila.
The Truth Commission was convened in May 2026 by civil society and Church groups led by Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Kalookan.
Former International Criminal Court judge Raul Pangalangan serves as chairman with Dr. Raquel Fortun, Dr. Al Fuertes, Fr. Danny Pilario and Carlos Conde as members.
The commission holds public truth-telling sessions every two weeks featuring survivors and families of victims of killings linked to the drug war.
It also produces the “Truth Be Told” podcast during intervening weeks to provide another platform for discussing victims’ experiences, evidence and issues surrounding the killings.#