PHILIPPINE WAR ON DRUGS

There are more than a quarter of a billion around the world use drugs and over 35
million people suffers from drug use disorders. Drug abuse has many effects in our community.
It increases financial problems, violence, crimes and many more. To prevent that, Philippines
created a law the Republic Act No. 9165. An act instituting the Comprehensive Dangerous Act
of 2002. Between 2008 and 2016, 14.8 million Filipinos has used illegal drugs at least once.
(Dangerous Drugs Board, 2016) According to a survey, the number of drug users in the
Philippines has dropped by more than half, from 4 million in 2016 to 1.67 million in 2019. Three
years after President Rodrigo Duterte launched a crackdown on drug use. How does it happen?
How Rodrigo Duterte dropped the number of users by more than half? Duterte thinks that illegal
drug problem is critical to Philippine nations survival. So, when Duterte took power in June
2016, he immediately carried out his campaign promise to fight violence by launching his bloody
Drug on War. After his statement, the day after, the police officers started their Operation
Tokhang and Operation Double Barrel by arresting and killing alleged drug users. They also
focused on urban poor slums and targeting alleged drug lords. Although the plan was good at
first, the drug lords and the users were scary and decided to stop using and sell drugs. They
were also people who wasn’t proved as guilty but killed because of the abused use of the power
and position of the officers. Because of the brutal operations after six months there were 4,000
extrajudicial killings. Among the victims, there are children and bystanders many families suffer
or mourns of their family members that is also affected of the operation. Now the question is,
why is this operation became an ethical issue? From the term extrajudicial killings, it allows for
the murder of innocent people. Even a careful judicial system will sometimes create mistakes. If
crime is decided without a fair and open procedure, it will definitely be far worse and more open
to abuse. Even while there may be a terrible drug problem overall, most of the users don't give
enough to justify the death penalty. The penalty thus surpasses the crime. Where the drug trade
is really strong, it is often because people have few decent options. Large-scale drug addiction
and the desire for many to make a living through illegal means are both caused by a lack of
opportunity and the feeling of hopelessness. Extrajudicial killings miss their opportunity to
punish the people who caused the issue in the first place. Extrajudicial killings are those who
violate the established norms and principles because they are not allowed by the rule of law.
The state's use of extrajudicial killings raises a number of ethical issues. Extrajudicial killings are
unacceptable in a democratic nation like the Philippines because they violate several ethical
beliefs and do not follow the country's laws, which established a process for fair trials and
maximum impact. It is obviously a violation of human rights. It makes the administration
irresponsible and free from responsibility for any further unlawful behavior. It makes people feel
uneasy and can be used as a tool for political revenge against people who disagree with the
government.