MANILA, PHILIPPINES — On July 3, pioneering podcast network PumaPodcast will launch Tokhang sa Tokhang, a multi-part audio documentary that captures the stories and voices of parents, spouses, children, and neighbors of people killed in the course of the Duterte War on Drugs, as well as insights of researchers, community workers, artists, journalists, musicians, statisticians, police, PDEA agents, and even government officials, to ask: “Kumusta ang Tokhang?”
The term tokhang comes from the words katok (to knock) and hangyo (to ask). To produce this podcast series, multi-awarded journalist Roby Alampay and a team of researchers did their own knocking and inquiring for the last seven months. The podcast also weaves in research from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the Columbia Journalism School, the Ateneo Human Rights Center, official data from government, and civil society organizations.
“What we really wanted was to give our audience the opportunity to listen to [the communities’] stories,” says Tricia Aquino, producer of the podcast. “It has been four years since the War on Drugs was launched by the government. It’s timely to take stock on how it has impacted on lives, on communities, and on the psyche and culture of the nation.”
Tokhang Sa Tokhang is set to music from hip-hop artists BLKD and Calix’s Kolateral album. The two musicians will share their stories on the podcast, as well. While Philippine media’s coverage of the war on drugs is already deep and extensive, this series offers an unhurried, reflective approach to the topic. Like all PumaPodcast productions, the Tokhang sa Tokhang will be posted on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Anchor, Stitcher, and anywhere else Filipinos get podcasts.
Tokhang sa Tokhang launches July 3, 2020.
