Marcos' 'inaction' emboldens local officials to justify ‘drug war’ killings — rights group

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s failure to halt violent anti-drug raids has emboldened local executives like Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte to revive his father’s “war on drugs,” a human rights group said on Monday. 

In March, the younger Duterte announced his campaign against illegal drugs, the same strategy employed by his father, Rodrigo Duterte, both during his time as mayor of the southern Philippine city and later during his presidency from 2016 to 2022.

At least seven drug suspects were killed during police operations less than a week after he declared a “war on drugs” in Davao City, prompting the Commission on Human Rights to conduct a probe into the drug-related killings.

“The new spate of killings in Davao City and elsewhere shows that President Marcos has not done enough to end the ‘drug war,’” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The recent deaths in Davao City add on to the more than 15 drug-related killings that have already taken place since January, based on the monitoring of the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center. 

Dahas said that Davao City was a “top hotspot” for drug-related killings as of March 26. 

According to Dahas, Davao del Sur, the city’s greater provincial area, has had more drug-related fatalities than any area in the Philippines, including Metro Manila, since Sebastian became a mayor in June 2022.

Fifty-three of the 342 recorded killings from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 took place in Davao del Sur. In contrast, there were 44 killings in Cebu and 43 in the capital region in the same time period.

“The sad reality is that these killings never ended, and the thousands of victims and their families in Davao City and elsewhere struggle without a remedy or justice,” Lau added.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently investigating alleged crimes against humanity in the “war on drugs” carried out during Rodrigo’s term as president, and earlier, as mayor of Davao City.

‘End drug war’

Marcos has continued his predecessor’s anti-drug campaign, but has repeatedly said that his approach focuses on rehabilitation. Rights groups like HRW, however, argued that killings persist as the “drug war remains a state policy.”

There have been over 600 drug-related killings since he took office in June 2022, according to Dahas.

HRW said that local officials like Sebastian will continue to justify killings of alleged drug dealers and users unless Marcos orders a policy shift to end targeted killings and states that those responsible for unlawful deaths will be fully prosecuted. 

“The Marcos administration needs to take stronger action to demonstrate that the ‘war on drugs’ is officially over,” Lau said.