A total of 4,410 suspects, or an average of six people a day, have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte started his administration’s war on drugs.
The Philippine National Police recorded 105,658 operations against illegal drugs from July 2016 to July 31, 2018, in which 87 antinarcotics policemen were killed and more than 200 others were injured, according to PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Benigno Durana Jr.
“As much as possible, we want it not to be bloody. But you are dealing with drug-crazed, armed criminals,” he said during a #RealNumbersPH press briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
Data from the PNP showed that 152,123 drug suspects, of whom 569 were government employees, have been arrested. Law enforcement agencies have seized P21.48 billion worth of drugs. —JULIE M. AURELIO