Why Ian Veneracion felt compelled to do ‘Drug War’ series

Ian Veneracion didn’t want to approach his upcoming project, “Drug War: A Conspiracy of Silence,” from the lens of politics or political personalities.

According to the veteran actor, the limited series — directed by Shugo Praico and produced by Lino Cayetano’s Rein Entertainment — is first and foremost a story about people, history and the different ways Filipinos remember the Duterte Administration’s war on drugs, from 2016 to 2019.

“I’m not associated with any political side because I’m not interested talaga in political personalities. I’m interested in telling stories,” Ian said during a recent press interview.

“And it’s such a nice story. When I read the script, hindi ko alam paano ko gagawin yon because of schedule problems. Pero I felt compelled because I have to tell the story. I feel it is a story of my people. It’s part of our history. It’s our story.”

In “Drug War: A Conspiracy of Silence,” Ian plays Fr. Tom Carillo, a priest whose involvement with the rehabilitation of drug abuse victims puts him in the middle of a larger search for truth and justice. The six-part crime drama also stars Jane Oineza, Harvey Bautista, John Arcilla, Lotlot de Leon, Romnick Sarmenta, Yayo Aguila, Joem Bascon, Ryan Eigenmann and Gabby Padilla.

Ian said that preparing for the role meant looking inward rather than tapping into external references.

“Anong preparation ko lagi? Inwards. Towards tackling a character, kasi yung panlabas, yun nga, feeling ko mas madali yun. It’s just information,” he shared. “Pero inwards is… manonood din kami. Ganoon.”

Asked if he got to speak to real priests or people involved in rehabilitation work, Ian said the production and creative team conducted research for the series. But for his own process, he drew from personal stories and the stories of people around him.

“Kasi sila Direk, they did their research here. Pero ako, for my character, ang basis ko, siyempre, personal na kwento,” Ian said.

Jane Oineza plays a ‘policewoman with a conscience’ in the six-episode crime drama.

“Marami akong — sabi nga, marami tayong mga kaibigan. Lahat tayo may kwento. Lahat ng kaibigan natin may kwento about during that time. Kaya lang, natabunan din ng pandemic yun, di ba? Nagka-pandemic, tapos nawala na. Nawala na rin yung information about dun sa nangyari, yung part of our history. So we just have to tell that story.”

As for the challenges of his role, Ian noted that “finding the Father Tom in me, that’s the harder part.”

As an actor, he also chose not to look at the whole picture while filming. He preferred to stay within Fr. Tom’s limited point of view, peeling off the other layers of the story only later.

“Yun nga, tulad ng sinasabi ko kanina, ayokong makita yung bigger picture. Kumbaga sa orchestra, di ba, we’re all different instruments. Ayokong makita rin or marinig yung kabuuan. Gusto ko lang yung from the subjective perspective of my character talaga,” he explained.

“And ngayon, habang napanood ko — hindi ko pa napapanood yung (series), only this first episode — so katulad niyo, na-enjoy ko tuloy yung discovery na, ‘Ah, si Father Tom pala siya. Siya pala yung nagre-represent ng ganito.’ Tsaka ko lang naririnig yung buong choir, kumbaga.”

The subject matter of “Drug War” is expected to invite strong reactions from viewers. At the same time, Ian acknowledged that audiences will likely receive the series differently, depending on their own experiences.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever find an objective perspective. Baka hindi,” he said.

He then shared that he knows people whose views were shaped by personal experiences of violence and loss due to drug abuse.

“Yung experience mo with the movie or the series is dependent on your life experience — kung saan ka bias, saan ka galit, yung ganun,”  Ian said.

“So depende sa experience mo, depende sa life experience mo, kaya mo masasabi na galit na galit ka sa pulis, o galit na galit ka sa drug addict, o galit na galit ka sa kung ano man.

“Ako, I want to be true to my character. So yung perspective niya lang ang tinitingnan ko the whole time na ginagawa natin ’to.”

Ian said the actors trusted Praico and the script to handle the material with care.

Harvey Bautista forms part of the cast.

“And kaming lahat as actors, we trust our director. He’s a brilliant storyteller, and we have a really good script,” he said.

With “Drug War: A Conspiracy of Silence,” Ian just hopes the series will not divide viewers further, but push them to confront difficult questions and talk about them.

“So basta hopefully, it starts a huge, complex conversation sa atin.”

In a separate interview with this paper, Ian also clarified what he meant by not being “political” in the usual personality-driven sense. For him, he is more interested in systems and ideas than loyalty to public figures.

“And I think it’s very unhealthy to associate yourself with the person,” he said.

“I mean, for example, kung sino man yung — kunwari, you’re a fan of so and so. Sometimes that person has brilliant ideas, sometimes that person has stupid ideas. Pero because you’re a fan of that person, lahat ng lalabas sa kanya, ‘Haha, palakpakan!’ Parang t**ga lang, di ba?”

He added, “So I’m not interested in people. I’m interested in systems. And if it’s a good idea, it doesn’t matter where it came from. Let’s call it a good idea. If it’s a stupid idea, let’s call it stupid, regardless kung gusto mo yung taong yun o hindi.”

For Ian, systems matter because people can change depending on circumstance.

“If I am self-reference, kunwari ako, sa sarili ko lang, may mga days good mood ako, may days efficient ako and productive, may days hindi,” he said.

“So how can you expect other people in their jobs? But if we have a good system of checks and balances, you don’t rely on, for example, people not being greedy. That’s unreasonable. Maybe the person you like now is not really, but pag nakatikim ng malaking pera yan, magiging greedy. Di ba, nagbabago yung tao eh.

“So people are dynamic, but systems can be designed, I think.”

Ian, along with the creative team, had graced some of the special screenings of the pilot episode last week for the media and filmmakers.

The screenings followed the release of the series’ official trailer, which has surpassed one million aggregate views across multiple platforms.

Announcements on the series’ streaming and local and international broadcast partnerships are expected in the coming weeks.

“Drug War: A Conspiracy of Silence” is slated for release this 2026. KC Global Media is handling international sales and distribution.