If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered how a modern democracy can convince its citizens that state-sanctioned violence is the only path to national security?
- Did you know that the most chilling insights into the Philippine drug war come from the intimate, often disturbing testimonies of the killers themselves?
- Are you curious about what it’s like to report from the heart of a climate of fear where the line between police and vigilante has been erased?
Listen to Some People Need Killing — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Some People Need Killing
- Understand how a political leader can weaponize public frustration by scapegoating a single vulnerable group for systemic issues like poverty and corruption.
- Discover how fabricated statistics and unverified, emotionally charged stories were used to manufacture a national crisis and justify mass murder.
- Learn why populist attacks on human rights and wealthy liberals successfully convinced ordinary citizens to embrace a policy of ruthless retribution over rehabilitation.
- Explore the chilling reality of 'Operation Tokhang,' exposing how state-sanctioned vigilantes and police disguised extrajudicial executions as routine self-defense.
- Grasp the terrifying mechanics of systemic state terror, revealing how a government can orchestrate the killing of up to 25,000 people while retaining mass public support.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Some People Need Killing
Mind Map
Some People Need Killing
Context & Premise
Duterte's Drug War
The Victims
Core Question
The Narrative & Appeal
Scapegoating
Populist Rhetoric
Fabricated Justifications
The Davao Myth
Manipulated Statistics
Mechanics of State Terror
Operation Tokhang
Police Cover-ups
The Human Cost
Efren Morillo's Survival
Achieving Justice
Scandal and Escalation
The Jee Ick Joo Case
Outsourcing the Violence
Accountability
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 6
Why did Rodrigo Duterte's violent rhetoric appeal to many Filipino voters in 2016?
Some People Need Killing — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: A vow to kill
Chapter 3: Tales and statistics
Chapter 4: Knock then shoot
Chapter 5: A survivor speaks
Chapter 6: The war persists
Some People Need Killing Summary & Overview
Some People Need Killing (2023) is a detailed and empathetic chronicle of the Philippines’ drug war between 2016 and 2022. It records the murders perpetrated by police and vigilantes during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Delving into the lives of both perpetrators and victims, Evangelista captures the climate of fear created by a government that believed that “some people need killing.”
Who Should Listen to Some People Need Killing?
- Readers interested in investigative journalism and human rights issues
- Fans of narrative nonfiction with a focus on social justice
- People seeking in-depth analysis of the Philippine drug war
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