EJK victims' families hold Mass for Undas 2026

Families of the victims of extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration gathered for a Mass in Quezon City on Thursday ahead of the Undas.

In a Balitanghali report, GMA's Sandra Aguinaldo said the families gathered at the Christ the King church.

Led by staunch drug war critic Father Flavie Villanueva, the Mass was part of a program meant for healing.

Villanueva said that this has been a yearly activity to help the families rise from the grief they experienced over the death of their loved ones.

However, the priest reminded the families that justice is also needed to help them move on. This is why they continue to monitor Duterte’s case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, Netherlands.

Duterte is being tried for crimes against humanity in relation to the drug war, which killed at least 6,000 people.

Villanueva said that it is also hard for the families to move on if the drug war deaths kept being denied.

During the part of the Mass where people say “peace be with you,” participants were encouraged to embrace one another instead.

Many of the mothers weeped during this part. The participants of the Mass said that such activities helped them heal from the pain of losing their loved ones to the drug war. —Jean Mangaluz/AOL, GMA News