THE WAR ON DRUGS

Voices from the lead characters

‘Stop this madness’

“My No. 1 wish (on my birthday), given all that is happening, I hope the president stops attacking me. I hope he puts an end to this whole madness.” -- Sen. Leila de Lima, Aug. 25

State-sponsored killings

“Regardless of the question whether those killed were in fact criminals, precisely because there was no opportunity for them to be prosecuted before a court of law, the fight against crimes is apparently becoming a statesponsored cover for a policy of summary executions and extrajudicial killings of any and all suspected criminals.” -- On the Aug. 22-23 Senate committee hearings

Descent to anarchy

“The judiciary’s role is to keep the social fabric intact, address people’s cry for justice, and thereby prevent society’s descent to anarchy. “What (the courts) provide is justice to the state and to the victims if there is enough evidence of guilt -- or to the accused if there is none.” -- Supreme Court Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno, at a press briefing in Intramuros, Manila, Aug. 25