Philippine Drug War

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Philippine Drug War
Part of the Campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines & War on Drugs
Rodrigo Duterte showing diagram of drug trade network 1 7.7.16.jpg
President Rodrigo Duterte presents a chart illustrating a drug trade network of high level drug syndicates in the Philippines during a press conference.
Date June 30, 2016 – present (1 month, 4 weeks and 2 days)
Location Philippines
Status

Ongoing

  • 10,153 arrested[1]
  • More than 600,000 drug dealers & users surrendered[1]
  • Approximately 1,916 drug-related killings[2]
  • Police claim crime rate falls 49%[3]
Parties to the civil conflict

 Philippine government

Supported by:
United States United States[4]


Non-state participants:

  • CPP (Supported government efforts until August 2016)[5]

NPA

Lead figures
Number
160,000 officers and personnel
At least 1.3 million drug users
Casualties
Unknown
Approximately 1,916 killed[2]

The Philippine Drug War, also known as Philippine War on Drugs, is an ongoing crackdown against narcotics distribution and use in the Philippines that began on June 30, 2016 when Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated as president.

Background of events[edit]

One of the central features of President Rodrigo Duterte's presidential campaign was the levels of drug crime across the country. Stating that the country would become a 'narco-state' if drug addiction was not forcefully combated, he ran a hardline campaign which included the extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers and abusers. Winning in a landslide victory, he promised to kill tens of thousands of drug criminals during the campaign against narcotics.[8]

As Mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte was praised for turning his city into one of the safest cities in the world through the suppression of drugs and criminality, although he was criticized by groups like Human Rights Watch for the extrajudicial killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group with which he was allegedly involved.[9][10]

Progress[edit]

In the first two weeks of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, more than 100 suspected drug dealers had been killed, 1,844 arrested and 660,000 drug users and dealers had surrendered.[11] In August 2016, that number had inflated to approximately 1,800 killed, 5,400 arrested and 565,805 dealers and users surrendered to police. While the Director-General of the Philippine National Police, Ronald dela Rosa, stated that crime rates had fallen by 49% since the President took office, critics of the campaign likened the situation to the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.[12][13][14]

Timeline[edit]

  • June 24, 2016 — More than fifty people accused of dealing in controlled substances are killed after Rodrigo Duterte called for citizens to kill suspected criminals.[15] President Duterte indicated his wish to reinstate capital punishment across the nation.[16] After Duterte's inauguration, he conducted a speech in Tondo, Manila where he urged people to kill drug dealers in exchange for bounty.[8]
  • July 1 — Duterte continued his calls for Filipino citizens to kill people suspected of using illegal drugs.[17]
  • July 3 — It was reported that ten people had been killed by the Philippine National Police within a week after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president and made statements encouraging the murder of illegal drug addicts.[18][19]
  • July 4 — The Communist Party of the Philippines agrees to fight drug lords after its legal wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan joins the government cabinet of Rodrigo Duterte.[20][21]
  • July 5 — Media report that more than 100 alleged drug dealers, rapists and car thieves have died in the Philippines since Rodrigo Duterte's election win on May 9, but no evidence of their crime is presented by local authorities.[22] Many of the killings happened during the last days of the Aquino administration, and prior to Duterte's inauguration on June 30, 2016.
  • July 7 — The House of Representatives seeks to investigate the rise in deaths of suspected drug dealers in the country.[23]
  • July 9 — The Philippine government demands that its critics provide proof that there have been human rights violations in the current drug war.[24] Later that day, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front decided to join Duterte in his purge of drug traffickers.[25]
  • August 7 — On early Sunday morning, President Duterte in his I am sorry for my country speech named more than 150 alleged drug protectors including local politicians, police, judges, and military.[26][27] Some politicians, who had been named, subsequently denied the accusations.[28]
  • August 8 — The United States expresses concerns over the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.[29]
  • August 18 — Two UN rights experts call on the Philippines to halt extrajudicial killings, stating that they be tried in a fair court of law. Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions, stated that the President had given a "license to kill" to his citizens after encouraging such acts of violence.[30][31]
  • August 22 — Duterte threatens to pull out of the United Nations in response to the United Nations' condemnation of his drug policies. He offered a proposal to African nations and China to possibly create a separate organisation to compete with the United Nations. Duterte also stated that the UN experts were "stupid" and that the UN had failed to combat hunger and terrorism in Iraq and Syria. He stated that, "You now, United Nations, if you can say one bad thing about me, I can give 10. I tell you, you are [useless]. Because if you are really true to your mandate, you could have stopped all these wars and killings."[32] Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr later walked back the threats to leave the United Nations, stating that, "The President is understandably extremely disappointed and frustrated with this action of the special rapporteurs in arbitrarily concluding that these drug-related killings were done by or are at the instance of law enforcers. But I can assure you that he remains committed to the United Nations, of which the Philippines is one of the founding members". Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella also later confirmed that the Philippines was not leaving the United Nations.[33]
  • August 25 — Duterte releases the drug matrix alleging that certain government officials, including Senator Leila de Lima, are involved in the drug trade at the Bilibid Prison.[34] Later, de Lima said that the inclusion of her name in the matrix was just a joke and she describes it as the "worst matrix of all time."[35] She also said that "even a 12-year-old can draw such a thing" and it deserves to be put in the "garbage can."[36]
Government officials who were tagged in the matrix
  • Senator Leila de Lima
  • Former Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III
  • Pangasinan Administrator Raffy Baraan
  • General Franklin Bucayo
  • Ronnie Dayan - de Lima's former driver and bodyguard
  • Pangasinan Board Member Raul Sison
  • “Ms Cardenosa”

Reference(s):[34][35]

Criticism[edit]

On July 8, 2016, the left-wing political party, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, represented by Liza Maza of GABRIELA Women's Party, both allies with the current government, asked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate the recent vigilante killings of suspected drug pushers.[37] Ifugao congressman Teodoro Baguilat called for an investigation because of concerns about the death rate of suspected drug pushers as well as the legitimacy of their labels. Those killed by police and vigilantes had no due process, of course, and so no evidence of their supposed crimes was presented. This is the same for the 'voluntary surrendering' likewise cited. People appeared on the lists by the barangays and PNP without evidence of any crime, such that thousands of people were summoned to the barangay under threat of arrest or even death without any evidence of criminal activity.[38]

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno wrote a letter to Duterte with regards to the seven judges included on his August 7 list of people alleged to be involved in the illegal drug trade.[39] On August 9, this prompted Duterte to retort that he is just doing his job as the President of the nation, whilst implying that she is not doing her job properly as SC Chief Justice.[40] He claimed that Sereno might be creating a constitutional crisis, in the event that he would order everybody in the executive department not to honor her.[41] Duterte then rhetorically asked Sereno if she would prefer him to declare martial law, although never implying he would carry it out.[41] On August 11, Duterte apologized to Sereno for the "unintended" harsh words that he directed at her.[42][43][44]

Opposition senator and human rights lawyer Leila de Lima of the Liberal Party condemned the killings and urged the Philippine Congress to investigate.[45]

De Lima called for an end of vigilante killings of drug suspects. On her privilege speech at Senate on August 2, she noted that "we cannot wage the war against drugs with blood..."[46] De Lima laments over the indifference by new government to extrajudicial killings and warns that more innocent people will suffer if the killings are fail to stop.[47]

Foreign response[edit]

  •  United States: US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated the United States' support for law enforcement campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines as well as in other parts of the world while he maintained that human rights should be protected and due process is observed in attaining security.[4]
  •  China: China through its embassy in Manila expressed that it understands the Philippine's campaign against illegal drugs under the administration of Duterte, took note of its own anti-illegal drugs campaign, and expressed "willingness for effective cooperation" with the Philippine government when it comes to its crackdown against illegal drugs.[48]

Statistics[edit]

Number of drug-related fatalities by type
(May 10 – August 29, 2016)[49]
From police operation 771 771
 
Caused by unidentified assailants 398 398
 
Bodies found away from crime scene 106 106
 
Total 1275

Note: This includes figures before Rodrigo Duterte's inauguration as president on June 30, 2016.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Oliver Holmes. "Philippine police anti-drugs operations have killed 712 since July, Senate hears". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-08-22. 
  2. ^ a b "Philippines drug war deaths double to 1,800 as president spars with UN". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  3. ^ Gorit, Gerry. "PNP chief: Crime rate down 49%". Philstar Global. philstar.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  4. ^ a b Viray, Patricia Lourdes. "US supports Duterte's war on drugs". Philstar Global. philstar.com. Retrieved 20 August 2016. 
  5. ^ http://interaksyon.com/article/131395/cpp-takes-back-cooperation-in-dutertes-drug-war-calls-for-end-to-madness
  6. ^ "Du30 blasts triad, drug cartel". The Standard. Retrieved 2016-08-05. 
  7. ^ "Duterte's Next List, Corrupt Public Servants". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 16 August 2016. 
  8. ^ a b "Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urged people to kill drug addicts". Associated Press. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016 – via The Guardian. 
  9. ^ Rodrigo Duterte: The Rise of Philippines’ Death Squad Mayor - Human Rights Watch.
  10. ^ Phil Zabriskie (July 19, 2002). "The Punisher". TIME.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. 
  11. ^ Philippine, The. "In 2 weeks: 135 killed, 1,844 arrested, 660K 'surrenderees,' 43K homes 'visited' « Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism". Pcij.org. Retrieved 2016-08-05. 
  12. ^ "Drug war 'spiraling out of control' - Inquirer News". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  13. ^ Munda, Carlos. "Losing touch with the people - the media and its role in Duterte's anti-crime crusade". MindaNation. Retrieved 2016-08-05. 
  14. ^ Santos, Pilar. "Do we really have a war on drugs?". MindaNation. Retrieved 2016-08-05. 
  15. ^ "Drug suspect killings rise after Duterte victory". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  16. ^ "Duterte: Bring back death penalty so I can hang criminals". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  17. ^ staff, Guardian; agencies (July 1, 2016). "Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte urges people to kill drug addicts". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  18. ^ "Philippine police kill 10 in Duterte's war on crime". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  19. ^ "Thirty killed in four days in Philippine war on drugs". July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016 – via Reuters. 
  20. ^ "Communists answer Duterte's call to join fight vs. drugs". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  21. ^ "Bayan to maintain presence in the streets despite Duterte alliance". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  22. ^ "Dozens killed in first four days of Duterte's drug war". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  23. ^ "Solon seeks House probe on killings of suspected drug offenders". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  24. ^ "Palace to critics of war vs drugs: Show proof of violations". Rappler. Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  25. ^ "MILF ready to aid Duterte in war vs drugs". Sun Star Cebu. Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  26. ^ "Duterte names officials linked to drugs". Rappler. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016. 
  27. ^ "Rody names politicians, judges, cops allegedly in illegal drugs". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016. 
  28. ^ "Ilang personalidad na pinangalanan ni Duterte, itinanggi ang paratang". YouTube. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 7 August 2016. 
  29. ^ "US 'concerned' by EJKs in war on drugs". Agence France-Presse. Interaksyon. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016. 
  30. ^ "UN rights experts urge Philippines to end wave of extrajudicial killings amid major drug crackdown". UN News Centre. United Nations. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  31. ^ "UN experts urge the Philippines to stop unlawful killings of people suspected of drug-related offences". United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. United Nations. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  32. ^ "Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte threatens to leave UN". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  33. ^ Esmaquel, Paterno (22 August 2016). "Philippines 'not leaving' UN amid Duterte threat". Rappler. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  34. ^ a b "Duterte matrix out; tags De Lima, ex-Pangasinan gov, others". 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016. 
  35. ^ a b "Duterte's drug matrix". CNN Philippines. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016. 
  36. ^ "De Lima laughs off Duterte's 'drug matrix'". GMA News. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016. 
  37. ^ "Militant group Bayan asks Duterte to probe killing of drug suspects". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  38. ^ Dumlao, Artemio (July 8, 2016). "Congress eyes probe on spate of drug killings". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  39. ^ "Sereno writes Duterte about her concerns on judges linked to illegal drugs". GMA News. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016. 
  40. ^ "Duterte to CJ Sereno: Would you rather I declare martial law?". GMA News. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016. 
  41. ^ a b "Duterte threatens to declare martial law if SC thwarts drug war" (Philippine Daily Inquirer). 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016. 
  42. ^ "Duterte apologizes to Sereno for 'unintended' harsh words". 12 August 2016. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 12 August 2016. 
  43. ^ "Rody apologizes to Sereno: Harsh words unintended". The Philippine Star. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016. 
  44. ^ Ranada, Pia (12 August 2016). "Duterte apologizes to Sereno for his 'harsh' words". Rappler. Retrieved 12 August 2016. 
  45. ^ "Duterte crime war 'out of control': Philippine critics". Retrieved July 9, 2016. 
  46. ^ "Stop the killings–Leila". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016. 
  47. ^ "De Lima: Stop the killings now". ABS-CBN News. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016. 
  48. ^ "China supports Duterte's war on drugs". ABS-CBN News. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016. 
  49. ^ "MAP, CHARTS: The Death Toll of the War on Drugs". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016. 

External links[edit]