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Some People Need Killing

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Some People Need Killing

By: Patricia Evangelista
Narrated by: Patricia Evangelista
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Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte.

Some People Need Killing is Evangelista's meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines' drug war. For six years, Evangelista chronicled the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte's war on drugs a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands - immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others.

The book takes its title from a vigilante whose words seemed to reflect the psychological accommodation that most of the country had made: 'I'm really not a bad guy,' he said. 'I'm not all bad. Some people need killing.' A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is also a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an important investigation of the human impulses to dominate and resist.©2023 Patricia Evangelista (P)2024 Penguin Random House Audio Asia Corruption & Misconduct Murder Politics & Government Southeast Asia True Crime Words, Language & Grammar World Writing & Publishing
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This is a shocking and deeply moving account of the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte’s rule. I use the word “rule” deliberately, as his leadership often appeared authoritarian and, at times, dictator-like.
Patricia Evangelista does an incredibly powerful job of creating a sense of what life was like in the Philippines during this period. It is difficult to describe the horrors she documents, but she manages to convey not only the violence itself, but also the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that surrounded it.
What I particularly appreciated about this book is the way Evangelista tells these stories. Rather than focusing only on statistics - the number of people murdered or the ways in which victims were “disappeared” - she looks closely at the people left behind. She shows the impact these deaths had on families, communities, and the lives of those who had to continue living with the consequences.
Her writing is very distinctive, and I found her perspective particularly compelling. She brings a deeply human dimension to events that could otherwise become reduced to numbers and headlines.
I really liked this book. It was difficult to read at times, but it made me want to learn much more about the Philippines, its history, and what the country has experienced in recent years.

Shocking reportage from Duterte's Philippines

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Dark, fascinating and impeccably researched, a great first hand account of this regime from a Journalist.

Incredible stuff

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This book will make you feel rage for the victims of the drug war during Duterte's regime. The author has written each victim's stories beautifully. The book criticises the past president, and I may be biased as to why its not an issue for me. But it also has given a good view on why people thought this man is a saviour and clung to his ideals.

Thanks for writing this book.

The narration was good at most parts. I'm not sure with the parts with accents. Some pronunciations of the Filipino words were not spot on.

A book all Filipinos should read

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