Villanueva, Angeli Lou Joven 2-E

A GOVERNMENT OF LAW, NOT OF MEN:

THE IMPACT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST DRUGS OF THE DUTERTE
ADMINISTRATION

The Philippine Drug War or the “Oplan Tokhang” refers to the drug policy of the Philippine Government
under President Rodrigo Duterte. The Drug War is a cornerstone of Duterte’s economic policy and
represents the extension of policies he had implemented in his political career as the Mayor of Davao City.

It all started during his campaign, when he claimed that drug dealing and drug addiction were major
obstacles to the Philippine economic and social progress. When he became President in Jjune 206, he urged
the public to “go ahead and kill” drug addicts. This rhetoric has been widely understood as an endorsement
of extrajudicial killings as it created conditions for people to feel that it is appropriate to kill drug users and
dealers. What have followed seem to be vigilante attacks against alleged suspected drug dealers and drug
addicts. The police are engaged in large-scale operations. The Philippine National Police also revealed a
list of high level political officials and other influential people who were allegedly involved in the drug
trade.

Data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency showed that as of March 20,2018, 4,075 drug-linked
individuals have been killed, 123,648 drug personalities have been arrested, and 91,704 anti-illegal drug
operations have been carried out since the President assume office in July 2016.

However, lawyer Jacqueline de Guia, spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), said the
numbers could be higher because Malacañang's yearend report showed that 16,355 homicide cases, which
may or may not be drug-related, were still under investigation. She said that until and unless all of these
cases have been investigated thoroughly and completely, we cannot conclusively say that there are only
4,000 deaths related to the campaign against drugs.

It is ironic how President Duterte ruined his promise when he took his oath of office that he would be
protecting human rights, but instead spent his first two years in office as a boisterous instigator for an
unlawful killing campaign. He has supported and incited ‘drug war’ killings while retaliating against those
fearless enough to challenge his assault on human rights.

Clearly, Oplan Tokhang has brought no good to the country. Rather, it resulted to egregious and large-scale
violations of human rights, thus amounting to a state-sanctioned murder. Reports say that among those
people killed in the first year of operations, about one third were killed by the police, portrayed as self-
defense shootings.

One of the notorious cases relating to Duterte’s drug war is that of former Mayor of Allbuera Leyte, Rolando
Espinosa, who died on November 5, 2016 at the Baybay City Provincial Jail. He was detained at the jail
due to his arrest for illegal drug possession in October 2016. According to the Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group (CIDG), the notorious suspects of the murder, Espinosa was killed during a shootout that
he initiated when the CIDG came to the jail to serve him a search warrant. Espinosa's death occurred amid
allegations that he was involved in the drug trade by President Rodrigo Duterte. The Commission on Human
Rights and Karapatan have held Duterte accountable for Espinosa's death, with Senate condemning the
death as an instance of extrajudicial killing.

Another known case is the killing of Kian Delos Santos, a 17-year old student who was fatally shot by
police officers conducting an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City. According to the official police report,
at around 8:45 p.m, Delos Santos tried to flee when he noticed the police officers approaching him. He then
drew his gun and "directly shot" towards the police, which prompted PO3 Arnel Oares to fire back in self-
defense, killing Delos Santos. The pistol, cartridges, and two sachets of methamphetamine were then found
in Delos Santos's possession.

According to the police officers, a drug dealer that they earlier arrested claimed that Delos Santos was the
mule of "Neneng" Escopino, a local drug dealer on the police watch list. However witness accounts and
cctv footage told otherwise. Two witnesses claimed that Delos Santos was blindfolded by the two men and
forced to hold a gun, fire it, and run. Another witness who approached claimed that Delos Santos begged
for his life before getting shot. Afterwards, the shooters approached the witness and asked him if he knew
the victim, which he denied. The witness later confirmed that the men who were filmed inside the barangay
hall reporting the alleged shootout were the same men who shot Delos Santos. Delos Santos's uncle, Randy,
questioned the police claim that the victim had a concealed firearm, since his nephew was wearing boxers
at that time. Delos Santos's father, Saldy, also pointed out that the pistol was recovered from the left hand
of his otherwise right-handed son.

These cases are only two of the thousands of cases which human rights violation is being alleged. There
being lacking of due process to try and hear cases before the proper court. Thus, due to the human rights
violations, the Philippines has caught the attention of international human rights organizations, thus
prompting a United Nations-led investigation into these killings.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in the Philippines is morally and legally unjustifiable. Resulting
in egregious and large-scale violations of human rights, it amounts to state-sanctioned murder. It is also
counterproductive for countering the threats and harms that the illegal drug trade and use pose to society
— exacerbating both problems while profoundly shredding the social fabric and rule of law in the
Philippines.

Thus, law should not be put into the hands of a few, but rather, the proper procedures shall be observed in
order to ensure that no human right shall be violated. Afterall, we are a government of law, not of men