John Jumarie M.

Alkuino

PSC31

Political Economy (C-PSCE314)

Sir. Jumel Estrañero

De La Salle University-Dasmariñas

Effects of the "War on Drugs" on Human Rights in the Philippines

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
 The war on drugs in the Philippines, led by President Rodrigo Duterte, is immoral and

against the law. It amounts to state-sanctioned murder because it violates human rights on a large

scale. Instead, it worsens both problems and rips apart the Philippines' moral structure and the

rule of law. Human Rights Watch's field research showed that government claims that the deaths

of suspected drug users and dealers were legal were outright lies. It paints a scary picture of how

mostly poor people living in urban slums are being killed by gunfire in state-sanctioned "death

squad" operations that break the rules of law. The uncontrollable mass prosecution of anyone

alleged to be in the drug trade or using drugs is also a way to shut down political diversity and

eliminate political opponents.

The Philippine judicial system is indeed prolonged and is thought to be corrupt. This gives

Duterte a chance to take action and deal with the drug problem in a non-constructive way by

breaking many people's rights. Also, people are willing to endure a corrupt, elite-controlled

political structure and a slow, inefficient, and equally corrupt legal system. This means they are

ready to put up with a politician who makes promises and causes trouble. Human Rights Watch's

research shows that police are making up evidence to justify killings that aren't legal. Even

though there are more and more pleas for an investigation, Duterte has said that he will keep up

the campaign. Vast violence outside of the judicial system as a way to deal with crime was a

trademark of Duterte's 22 years as mayor of Davao City and the primary goal of his platform for

president. The war on drugs led by Duterte’s administration is not justifiable in all ways and
destroys the human rights of his citizens. Making Filipino families suffer and imposing fear and

dread.

CHAPTER II: BODY

 Since he became president, Rodrigo Duterte has created a terrible situation for human

rights in the Philippines. Duterte took office on June 30, 2016. There has been a sharp drop in

respect for fundamental rights. This is due to the government's murderous "war on drugs," the

overcrowding of jails because of drugs, and the abuse and prosecutors of drug war critics.

Duterte says his fight against drugs is for life or death against a "drug menace" that could turn

the Philippines into a drug cartel state. He doesn't care that the statistical data he uses to back up

his exaggerated claims are wrong, excessive, or made up. The Commission on Human Rights

(CHR) says that 29,000 people had died since 2016 when Rodrigo Duterte became president of

the Philippines and started his "war on drugs." Human Rights Watch says the Philippine National

Police were responsible for at least 2,555 killings. Mass killings and incarceration in the

Philippines won't stop people from wanting drugs.

Even when people who turn themselves in instead of jail are put in so-called treatment

centers, significant problems remain. Many people who turned themselves in did not necessarily

have a drug problem. Instead, they turned themselves in ahead of time to avoid being killed if,

for some reason, they ended up on the watch list. As a result, most people addicted to drugs do

not get the care they need. In the Philippines, rehabilitation for drug addiction is not

well-developed or available. As a result, they used questionable treatment methods and had very

high relapse rates. Duterte didn't hide the fact that this was going to happen.

Newspapers and other media outlets that have written negative stories about the "war on

drugs" have also been harassed by the government and on social media. In the press, the
government's main target has been the media site Rappler, which has often written negative

stories about the anti-drug campaign, such as ground-breaking stories about how the police were

involved in the killings. As a result, the owners, publishers, and journalists of Rappler are

engaged in many legal cases, and the editor, Maria Ressa, has been arrested by the police. Maria

Ressa is also the target of a brutal campaign to make her look blatant on social media.

CHAPTER III: ANALYSIS

Most of the killings have happened in poor areas, which has led to accusations that the

war on drugs is only against the poor more than anything else. In many cases, the victim was the

primary source of income for a low-income family, and their death worsened the family's

situation. "These people are often the most marginalized people in our society, and the violence

of the "drug war" has made them even more marginalized. Human Rights Watch urges the
Philippine government to stop its violent and aggressive anti-drug campaign and investigate and

prosecute those responsible for killings and other human rights violations. Since June 2016, the

"war on drugs" has led to extrajudicial killings and other rights violations. Families of people

killed by government officials or their employees in ways that are against the law should get fair

and quick compensation for their loss. In addition, government agencies should help the children

whose breadwinners have been killed, especially those who live in poor areas of the Philippines,

where most of these killings happen, and make sure the government takes steps to protect these

children from abuse.

Authorities have not only neglected to look into these lives lost relatively and independently, but

in some cases, they have even tried to stop other people from getting information about the

deaths. The CHR has said that the PNP often won't give it copies of police records so it can look

into cases. This is what made the CHR want to talk to the PNP. People with criminal cases

against police officers have also been rejected by the PNP, forcing them to go to the Supreme

Court for help. In a 2019 ruling, the Supreme Court told the police to hand over thousands of

documents. When the police finally gave the litigants the documents, the litigants called them

"rubbish" because most of them didn't have anything to do with the "drug war." Journalists have

also said that the police haven't given them official documents about drug raids, which are

assumed to be public documents. The administration has fought back against calls for them to be

held accountable.

CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS

 - Set up and expand alternative solutions to incarceration for individuals accused of

low-level drug crimes, such as removing criminal penalties for personal drug possession.

- Change how law enforcement works to go after high-level drug trafficking criminal

networks instead of consumers, low-level dealers, and mules at the bottom of the drug

trafficking ladder.

- Set up accurate and up-to-date baseline information on the number of drug users and

people who sell drugs.

- Establish drug-prevention programs based on information

- Conduct an investigation and prosecute alleged killers, including law enforcement

officers, who have a good reason to be linked to extrajudicial killings and other

wrongdoings during the "war on drugs" led by the Duterte government.

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION

Lawlessness in the Philippines is getting out of hand, and the impunity of the president,

officials, and other legislators is not fair in the eyes of many. Many Filipinos have already died.

Along with this, many people's rights are being broken. This is something that President Rodrigo

Duterte intends to stop. Drugs cause much crime, which is why the drug issue needs to be fixed.

Duterte defends his policies by talking about dread, hatred, and fear to avoid taking

responsibility for the deaths because of his "war on drugs. During operations to stop drug use,

police officers get rid of evidence that shows drug perpetrators were unarmed and willing to

cooperate. Because of this violence that the government supports, eyewitness testimony and

relatives are afraid to speak up for the victims. Duterte and his government continue to stop
investigations and threaten people who disagree with his policies. At the same time, Duterte

keeps putting people in positions of power whom he feels indebted, even though they don't have

the right skills or experience. When you call killing many suspected criminals in the Philippines

a "war on drugs," you take away the human cost of it. It must be referred to as a mass killing of

civilians who are not armed and are often poor and thought to be using drugs. Duterte's

government has successfully incited, if not wholly structured, the killings of further than 7,000

Filipinos out of hatred and fear for the horrible crimes that drug users have either been proven to

have done or are thought to have done.

REFERENCES:

Bernal, B. (2017) Philippines police claim drug war deaths exaggerated

from:https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/02/asia/philippines-police-drug-war-deaths/index.html

Gavilan, J.(2022) Duterte’s violent war on drugs, as recorded by rights groups, int’l bodies

from:

https://www.rappler.com/nation/list-reports-documentation-rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-killings/

Mccarthy, J. (2021) A World Court Inches Closer To A Reckoning In The Philippines' War

On Drugs

from:https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1008986915/international-court-is-asked-to-probe-anti-dr

ug-war-in-the-philippines

Manlapaz, B. (2020) Development At A Cost: Ignoring Human Rights In The Philippines’

War On Drugs from:

https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/development-at-a-cost-ignoring-human-ri

ghts-in-the-philippines-war-on-drugs

Diola, C. (2016) How Duterte's drug war can fail from:

https://newslab.philstar.com/war-on-drugs/policy

Lara Jr. and De la Rosa (2021) Collusion or Collision? The War on Drugs in the Philippines

from: http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0124-05792020000200419