Philippines: Duterte’s ‘Drug War’

Claims 12,000+ Lives

Government Harassment, Threats Against Rights Defenders
Protesters and residents hold lighted candles and placards at
the wake of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old high school
student, who was among the people shot dead last week in an
escalation of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in
Caloocan city, Metro Manila, the Philippines on August 25,
2017. © 2017 Dondi Tawatao / Reuters

Since the “drug war” began on June 30, 2016, Duterte and his officials have publicly
reviled, humiliated and, in one instance, jailed human rights advocates. Senator Leila de
Lima, the president’s chief critic, has been detained since February 2017 on politically
motivated drug charges in apparent retaliation for leading a Senate inquiry into the drug
war killings and, early on, opening an investigation of the Davao Death Squad in Davao
City, where Duterte was mayor for more than 20 years. “President Duterte has not only
resisted calls to end his brutal ‘drug war,’ but has used populist rhetoric to disparage the
brave activists who have been investigating and denouncing his cruel campaign,” said
Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director. “Since Duterte will never undertake a serious
investigation into the ‘war on drugs,’ it’s up to the United Nations to support an
international investigation and bring the mass killings to a stop.”