Before last week, the mounting death toll from the war on drugs seems to have receded from the everyday consciousness of Filipinos. Quite telling was the fact that there were fewer and fewer stories on the drug war casualties presented by the evening news and the papers. Like any other “issue,” it seemed as if the country had already moved on to other things.

Then on Wednesday night, 17 year-old Kian Delos Santos was murdered by police officers.

At first, the police tried to use the usual “nanlaban” excuse, saying that Kian had fired first, prompting the officers to fire back. However, accounts from witnesses and CCTV footage say otherwise. The video showed that Kian was dragged away into a dead-end alley by two men in civilian clothes. The men gave Kian a gun and asked him to run for his life. Then, they shot him dead.

Police admitted that Kian is not part of the drug watchlist. Today, however, they are doubling down. They are now saying that Kian was a “drug courier” for his father and his uncle.

How can we prove this now? It is their word against a dead boy’s. If Kian were alive, he could have had the chance to face and defend himself against these accusations. This just exemplifies why due process is important.

If this administration can afford to give due process to the rich and powerful, then why not give the same opportunity to those who need it the most?

But for now, this is what we know–Kian and tens of thousands of others have been killed in the name of this war. Most of them are poor, and they were never given the chance to explain and be heard. Some of them are minors and innocents–considered by this government as mere “collateral damage.”

We know that this bloody war has the blessing of those in the highest levels of power. Speaking about the death of 32 people during the police’s “one time, big time” operation in Bulacan last Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said, “Iyong namatay daw kanina sa Bulacan, 32, in a massive raid. Maganda iyon. Makapatay lang tayo ng another 32 everyday, then maybe we can reduce the…what ails this country.”

Nevermind the fact that he sheepishly admitted that his bold promise to end the drug problem in “three to six months” was unattainable. Nevermind the fact that he admitted to the public that the police itself was compromised by narcopolitics.

“Nagkamali ako,” Duterte said. But he does not think of changing his approach in fighting drugs and putting an end to this bloodlust he himself has encouraged.

When as much as 8,000 Filipinos have already died from a brutal drug war and the government goes on with its usual theatrics without batting an eye, there is definitely something wrong with the future that awaits us.

It is unfortunate that it took Kian’s death to spark a renewed collective outrage over this senseless violence. Nevertheless, let this disturb us into rethinking about the society that we have become. Do we really want this to be the “new normal?”

Seeing the unnecessary trauma and bloodshed that this war on drugs has caused, it is time we hold those who have allowed this to happen accountable. The government has the power to end these indiscriminate killings. They can enforce proper law enforcement policies that target the real aggressors of the drug menace, and not its innocent bystanders.

Yet those in power are only one part of the equation. We also need to hold ourselves accountable for being actively or passively complicit to what has been happening.

If we do not want a society where violence is the norm and impunity is rampant, then it is up to us to prevent this from happening. Letting those in power know that we have had enough is an important first step, but we must also resist efforts to normalize what is going on.

It is important to show Duterte and his macho posse that we are still capable of outrage. It is important to show them that we have not stopped counting the dead and telling their stories. It is important to show them that we are still committed in striving for a more humane society, no matter how difficult it has become.

The state-sanctioned deaths of Kian and tens of thousands of Filipinos should not just remain as mere figures. They should serve as an everyday reminder of our duty to seek justice and truth for them.

When the police told Kian to run, what choice did he have but to obey? But we have a choice. We have a choice to stand our ground; to say, “enough is enough.”