Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, poltical or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or any status (Article 2, UDHR) The State and its agents is the principal duty bearer of human rights. The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights defines these obligations as such: The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. [OHCR website; italics supplied] Using these perspectives to frame one’s understanding of women and children in the Drug War moves the women and children from a patronized identity of “victim”, even passive receivers social welfare, to a “right holders” whose capacities have to be strengthened to more effectively demand accountability from the State and other duty bearers for the continuing human rights violations they experience prior to and because of the current administration’s Drug War. The latter is also crucial: the historicity of women’s and children’s struggles – whether as individuals, part of families, or a class – against marginalization on the basis of their socio-economic class, gender, age, ethnicity and other social identities is part of the narrative of the Drug War. Without the historical contextualization, the discourse on the Drug War, the drug-related killings, and its impact on women and children will be superficial and short-sighted i.e. revolving solely at personalities and events, rather than socio-political, historical and cultural conditions that sustain public endorsement of violence and various forms of human rights violations as a means of eliminating illegal drug use and trade. The perspectives also highlight State responsiveness and accountability in situations of human rights violations, regardless if these violations were explicitly State-endorsed or not, or directly committed by State agents or not. The obligation to fulfill human rights entail that the State work toward achieving an environment where all people know their rights and exercise them without fear. Acts of omission, or the silence of the State especially in the face of widespread and systematic human rights violation, is an abrogation of this obligation. Below are the themes as culled out from the combined data from various data gathering methods: • Women and children are in the center of the Drug War They are are not only the “left behind” family members, but in several cases, they were also the direct victims (killed in police operations or by vigilantes as alleged drug users or Panaghoy: The Philippine War on Drugs from the Perspective of Women March 2019 55