Human rights group calls on administration to end war on drugs
In a recent report, Amnesty International has urged the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to put an end to the controversial “war on drugs” and extrajudicial killings that have been ongoing in the country. The report emphasized that despite promises of a rehabilitation-focused approach to the drug war, extrajudicial executions have continued throughout the second year of Marcos’s presidency.
According to the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, there have been over 600 drug-related killings since Marcos took office in June 2022. Amnesty International Philippines Director Butch Olano expressed concern over the persistence of these killings and called on the government to make a clear policy statement to address the issue.
The United States State Department’s annual human rights report also highlighted the ongoing problem of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Human Rights Watch criticized Marcos for failing to halt violent anti-drug raids, which has reportedly emboldened local officials to revive harsh drug policies.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently investigating alleged crimes against humanity in the “war on drugs” that took place during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency. Amnesty International urged the Marcos administration to cooperate with the ICC investigation and take steps to prevent any future withdrawal from the court.
Amnesty International also called for the abolishment of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), a Duterte-era body known for targeting civilians. Additionally, the organization urged the Philippine government to pass legislation supporting human rights defenders, providing assistance to families of victims of drug-related killings, and amending the Anti-Terrorism Law.
