November 18 ------ The Human Rights Watch (HRW) called out the Philippine National Police (PNP) for supposedly undercounting the number of fatalities in anti-illegal drug operations since the start of Marcos administration.
In a statement, HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said an independent institute has monitored 127 deaths from July 1 to November 7, which is higher than the 46 reported by the PNP for the same period. “The police reported that 46 people were killed during anti-drug operations since Marcos took office on June 30,” Robertson said. “But this is far below the estimate of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, whose Dahas program monitors 'drug war' violence. The program tallied that 127 people were killed in 'drug war' incidents from July 1, the day after Marcos was sworn in, to November 7,” he added. According to Robertson, the PNP sought to downplay recent killings in the “war on drugs” by claiming that the number of drug war deaths since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s inauguration was “very minimal.” “Even if one accepts the PNP’s figures, calling this death toll 'very minimal' smacks of insensitivity and callousness,” he said.
In a recent forum, PNP chief Police General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said only 46 drug suspects have been killed in the over 18,500 police operations since the start of the Marcos administration. Around 22,000 arrests have also been recorded so far, Azurin added. Robertson said authorities did not take actions to shift its focus on rehabilitation and their efforts are just “rights abusing” because they are involuntary, coercive, and expose drug users to further stigma. “In September, Marcos said he wanted to focus on rehabilitation, but there is no evidence that the authorities have done anything to make such a shift,” he said.
The HRW also called out supposed misleading assertions the Philippine government made in its defense from human rights issues during the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines recently. “But so far, all that has been forthcoming from the new administration has been inflated rhetoric masking empty claims,” Robertson said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, for his part, shrugged off HRW's claims. "Not all views are objective, as they were colored and poisoned by NGOs (non-government organizations) towing NDF lines," Remulla told reporters, referring to the communist group National Democratic Front.
Source: gmanetwork.com
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