An alleged drug pusher killed during an alleged encounter with tthe police in Vitas, Tondo, Manila.
INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
MANILA, Philippines — The drug war deaths last August were 76-percent higher than the average of deaths recorded before community quarantines were imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Citing data from the government’s Real Numbers PH, Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW Asia Division, noted that there are 46 drug war deaths reported in August, higher than the average of 26 deaths from December 2019 to March 2020.
From April to July, the average number of drug war deaths is posed at 39. Community quarantines have been imposed in the country since mid-March.
The new data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s monitoring system show that “the situation is getting worse,” Robertson said in a statement Monday night.
“Drug war operations are typically carried out in urban areas in major cities, targeting impoverished communities that are facing the dual increased risk from the anti-drug campaign and the pandemic,” he said.
“During the lockdown, these communities have been hemmed in by police and local governments, with residents largely confined to their homes. They become sitting ducks for anti-drug raids by the police and their agents,” he added.
Latest data from PDEA showed there are a total of 5,856 drug suspects killed and 256,788 arrested in 176,777 anti-drug operations from July 2016 to August 2020.