Brooke Wershaw

Human Rights POSC 445

Philippines Human Rights Crisis

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is leading a major transformation

within the Philippines as he moves towards the creation of an authoritarian regime as he

continues a vicious war on drugs. President Dutertes enforcement of an anti-drug

campaign riddled with extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and users and the

encouragement of vigilante violence to carry out killings of these individuals, creates a

significant human rights crisis in the Philippines. Duterte was elected as President of

Philippines in May, ensuring his commitment to ending the drug crisis in the Philippines

and promising a bloody war on drugs (Sullivan, In Philippine Drug War). Duterte has

claimed that there are 3.7 million drug users and blames them for crime across the

Philippines including rape, robbery, and theft. Most illegal drug users in the Philippines

some shabu, a highly addictive and widely available form of methamphetamine

(Paddock). Since he took office in June, approximately 5,000 people have been killed in

the war on drugs, with 2,000 killed by police, and 3,000 killed by vigilante violence. As

criticism rises from the international community from nations who value human rights,

Dutertes promise to continue his ruthless war on drugs strengthens. Duterte remarked on

his relentless anti-drug campaign in his State of the Nation address as he vowed that We

will not stop until the last drug lordand the last pusher have surrendered or are put

either behind bars or below the ground, if they so which. Despite international criticism

and the violations of human rights within Dutertes administration, Dutertes popularity
among the Philippine population has been skyrocketing as he promises restoring order

and reducing crime in the Philippines and protecting the personal safety of individuals

who are not involved with drugs or the drug trade (Lamb).

Duterte was elected as President of the Philippines despite the publics knowledge

of his decades of extrajudicial killings as a means of fighting crime within his hometown

of Davao City, which he has served as mayor (As Bodies Pile Up). Dutertes vicious

campaign includes citing Hitler and the Holocaust and his profession that he would

happily slaughter three million drug addicts (Lamb). The rise of the publics

acceptance of extrajudicial killings often stems from the loss of confidence in state

institutions and the belief that punishments that offer more immediate control would be

more effective to combat crime. Dutertes predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III was

elected on a platform of supporting rule of law and human rights. During his

administration, Aquino had not fixed the failed Philippines justice system and was

viewed as a weak leader, driving the country into supporting a leader that would be tough

and provide security. The Philippines corrupt justice system riddled with bribes among

the police for protection or getting themselves out of trouble, led its people feeling

unprotected from crime. This frustration with the justice system and feeling of insecurity

has justified vigilante violence as a viable means of protecting personal safety and

replacing the justice system. Fear of safety and crime among citizens leads to the

empowerment of authoritarian rulers who promote violence, despite the fact that these

corrupt institutions had failed to provide safety initially. When a leader like Duterte

comes into the public eye, he exploits the fears of his people and demonstrates his

commitment to solving the countrys problems by gaining their confidence through

promises of greater punishment. Rather than mending the underlying problems of the

corrupt justice system and the drug crisis, amidst fear, it is more appealing to designate

the criminals from the law-abiding citizens and promise to destroy these Philippine

criminal gangs. (Taub).

President Dutertes support of vigilante violence escalates feelings of insecurity

within the Philippines, as the targets are often innocent individuals. Communities are led

to believe that these violent tactics are working and improving their safety as Duterte

depicts these victims as hardened criminals. More than half of the killings, over 3,000,

have been conducted by vigilantes, many from gangs and drug lords who are taking

advantage of widespread killings in an effort to get rid of their enemies. Corrupt police

officers are often behind these vigilante killings in order to protect their narcotics rackets.

A police briefing document on Operation Double Barrel shows that from July 1 to August

16, approximately 250 officers were fired from Manila, Philippines due to their suspected

links to the drug trade. Despite this information from the police briefing and police

themselves admitting that active officers could be behind vigilante killings, the Philippine

government has denied any relationship between the police and vigilantes (Lamb). The

Philippine government has made it clear that any person who carries out extrajudicial

killings will not be subjected to legal repercussions, escalating the willingness of people

to carry out violence without fear of consequences. This support of lawless violence

creates a vicious cycle of unjust killings, and people who have relatives that have been

unjustly killed often seek revenge and use violence as a way to settle disputes. Rather

than serving as a method of providing security, these extrajudicial killings provide the

opposite outcome, promoting insecurity and retaliation (Taub).

 The most concerning group that conducts these extrajudicial killings is from state-

sanctioned police death squads. These death squads, or special ops team were created

under Dutertes administration in his vicious campaign against drugs to kill, or under

Philippine police language, neutralize these unwanted citizens. President Duterte has

unleashed Operation Double Barrel, giving police the authority to crack down on drugs

and crime. The police are instructed to triple their efforts if need be lending to the over

2,000 individuals that have been killed by police officers since Duterte has taken office in

in June. Police officers are also promised amnesty if they end up in trouble for any of

their violent actions. An officer shares his experience as part of one of the ten highly

secretive police special operations team, each consisting of 16 members. He shares that

each team is given a list of targets to execute, all suspected drug users, dealers, and

criminals. The officers, dressed in all black and hooded, enter into the homes of the

targets at night, then remove them complete their execution immediately with no

witnesses. The bodies of these targets are then dumped in the next town or under a

bridge, or in the most gruesome of ways, apply making tape around the head of the body

and place a cardboard sign with the words drug lord or pusher on the body of the

corpse. The police place these signs on the dead bodies of those who they have executed

in order to notify the media or individuals investigating the crime to redirect their

investigation. The police sees no wrong with their extrajudicial killings and believe that

those investigating will not see the extreme human rights violations associated with these

killings, but will think, Why should I investigate this guy, he is a drug pusher, he is a

rapist, never mind with that one, I will just investigate the others. Its a good thing for

him that happened to him. The police officer acknowledges and even jokes that there
have been so many killings in the recent months, that anyone can get away with murder

without legal repercussions because they could easily be disguised as a drug pusher

(Lamb).

The relatives of people who have been killed by extrajudicial killings are sharing

their horrifying stories to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis and lawlessness

afflicting the Philippines. Restituto Castro, a father of four who was neither a drug lord or

pusher, was shot and killed after he received an anonymous text message asking him to

leave his house, on the very same day that President Duterte promised to destroy the

nations illegal drug trade. Mr. Castro occasionally used the illegal drug shabu from

friends, but never purchased it himself as a frequent drug user (Iyengar). In another tragic

account from a woman who lost her husband to the violent war on drugs, she expresses

her fears for the future of her country, that the government, police, and public are allied

against her and that she would have to seek justice for her husbands killing alone. Her

husband had no relations to the drug trade, but she is still afraid to speak out about her

husbands killing and question the motives behind the polices brutal tactics. There is a

fear among families of victims that they themselves will get in trouble with the police if

they ask too many questions about the victims death. The director of Human Rights

Watch Asia division acknowledges that families of victims have been absolutely terrified

into silence. Even high-profile leaders, former justice secretary Sen. Leila de Lima is

being attacked by Duterte for criticizing his anti drug campaign, and then faced an

accusation of being involved in the illegal drug trade, making her susceptible to violence

by vigilantes or the police (Kaiman).

 Duterte offers drug dealers and users a way of avoiding death through

surrendering to the police. The threat of imminent death by the death squad and vigilantes

has led to over 800,000 drug users and dealers to turn themselves into the police, where

they are forced to sign a pledge that they will never take illegal drugs again. Drug dealers

or pushers are often sent to overcrowded jails, and recovering drug addicts are either sent

to rehabilitation facilities or are sent home and required to attend police sponsored

Zumba classes and are periodically drug tested to ensure their commitment to stop using

illegal drugs. The Philippines government is extremely unprepared to aid the hundreds of

thousands of surrendered drug users in their recovery, leading many addicts to recover on

their own. The substandard rehabilitation treatment centers are exceedingly overwhelmed

and overcrowded, creating a crisis for Dutertes war on drugs. The significant lack of

accredited rehabilitation facilities, fewer than 50 nationwide, along with a shortage of

doctors to assess the patients needs and qualified drug counselors, creates a need for the

government to expand its drug treatment services to keep up with the security measures

(Paddock). The Philippines only allows doctors who are specifically accredited by the

Department of Health to diagnose drug dependency. There is a significant shortage of

these doctors, with less than 200 physicians who are Department of Health accredited,

qualified to handle and evaluate all drug users (Sullivan, The Nightmarish Conditions).

According to Dr. Vicente, the head of the National Center for Mental Health, one

Philippines largest psychiatric facilities, providing treatment for every person who has

surrendered could cost billions of dollars. In order to make up for the lack of recovery

programs, exercise programs and activities such as Zumba are organized for recovering

addicts, which fails to provide the adequate help that many drug users need to end their
addiction. Drug users hope to avoid being killed through surrendering, but often are

subject to killings again, since they cannot overcome their addiction due to the lack of

rehabilitation services available (Paddock).

Drug users and dealers who surrender hope that immunity will be granted to them,

but this does not always happen. Over 38,000 people were arrested of the 800,000 drug

users and dealers who have surrendered to the police (Paddock). The overcrowding of

Philippine jails and its unlivable conditions pose a new set of human rights violations

within Dutertes anti drug campaign. Suspects are jailed in extremely confined living

quarters due to the large influx of prisoners and the inability for the prisons to keep up

with this high number of new arrests. Chief Inspector Robinson Maranion shares that

depending on the drug operation, there could be between ten and twenty people arrested.

Overcrowding has become a major issue within the jails, with sometimes more than 100

suspects crammed into a cell with a maximum occupancy of 45 men. In order to fit

everyone in the cell, people hung from the walls and ceiling in hammocks, while taking

turns lying down to sleep in shifts four hours at a time. Suspects are supposed to be

moved from an overcrowded district jail in Tondo, one of Manilas most densely

populated areas, to the citys central jail within days or weeks, but suspects are often in

this holding cell for three months. Dutertes administration did not expect that the number

of drug users at this magnitude would surrender so quickly. They were unprepared

financially and logistically to support the hundreds of thousands of people who

surrendered fearing for their lives, and are now in need of drug rehabilitation and to be

held in jails with adequate and humane living conditions (Sullivan, The Nightmarish

Conditions).
 Duterte has managed to gain support from China, a nation that is crucial for

continuing his war on drugs. Duterte has mended Philippines severed ties with China and

created an alliance with its Asian neighboring country, gaining financial support and

defense of their anti drug campaign. The previous disputes over the Scarborough Shoal

within the South China Sea, where a blockade of Philippine access to these waters was

enacted, have been mainly resolved now that Duterte has showed that Philippine interests

are now aligned with Chinese interests. China has significantly relaxed the blockades

constraints of the shoal as a special arrangement for Mr. Duterte in order to welcome

Dutertes efforts towards improved relations with China (Perlez). China supports

Dutertes anti drug campaign and stands by his enforcement of policies to combat drug-

related crimes. China has agreed to lend support to the Philippines drug campaign by

sharing intelligence, resources, and preventative education. In addition, China has

committed to a grant of $15 million to the Philippine government where they will assist

in constructing drug rehabilitation facilities, aiding in security enforcement, and

strengthening of the countrys war on drugs (Roy).

The extreme violations of human rights are evident in Dutertes campaign against

drugs. President Dutertes rhetoric and subsequent actions to restore the death penalty,

carry out extrajudicial killings, threaten journalists, and intimidate human rights

defenders fuel the countrys existing poor human rights record. The police are largely

exempt from human rights violations such torture and brutality, where there has only

been one officer tried for criminalizing torture, and very few held liable for killing

journalists. Dutertes position to restore the death penalty after a decade long ban of this

practice in the Philippines would result in the implementation of cruel and irreversible
punishment. Duterte has promised to apply the death penalty to crimes that do not meet

the threshold of most serious crimes which are the only types of crimes that

international law permits the death penalty. Most countries have abolished the use of the

death penalty, as there is no evidence that the death penalty serves as more of a deterrent

than prison. Reinstituting the death penalty for not serious crimes, would be leading the

Philippines into a direction of extreme human rights violations. Widespread extrajudicial

executions across the Philippines also violate both international and Philippines law. The

promise of large sums of money to individuals who kill suspected drug dealers and shoot-

to-kill orders against people who resist arrest, do not ensure fair trials for criminal

suspects or protection of the victims from potential threats. In addition, Dutertes

disregard for the safety of journalists and disrespect of their right to speak and write

freely, adds onto the list of the Philippines human rights violations. Seven journalists

were killed last year, and over 150 media workers were killed over the past 30 years

(Philippines: President Duterte).

The international community has criticized Duterte for his extreme human rights

violations in the Philippines, calling for the end of extrajudicial killings by death squads

and vigilantes, detention without trial, torture, and other ill treatment. Organizations and

countries that value human rights alike are partaking in this international criticism to put

pressure on Duterte to end his violations on human rights. Organizations like Amnesty

International called for the establishment of control and accountability over the

Philippine military, police, and other state-sponsored forces (Philippines: President

Duterte). Countries with an emphasis on human rights, such as the United States, have

expressed harsh criticism of the anti-drug campaign, specifically with the extrajudicial
killings. The United States has implemented sanctions by vowing to block any sale of

assault rifles to the Philippine police in an effort to minimize extrajudicial killings by the

Philippine police(Perlez). The United Nations has also condemned Dutertes handling of

the war on drugs, expressing criticism with the police and vigilantes acting as judges for

their allegations of drug related offences, rather than a court of law. Despite international

criticism from nations, organizations, and the United Nations, Duterte threatens to break

ties with these countries and give up Philippines membership in the UN as he aims to

maintain the sovereignty of the Philippines, showing no signs of ending his ruthless

campaign against drugs (McKirdy).

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