Drug war death toll as of Oct. 2021 at 6,215; Over 315,000 arrested — PDEA

File photo from PDEA

MANILA, Philippines — The number of drug suspects who were killed in the government’s war against illegal drugs has reached 6,215 as of October 31, 2021, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said in its data from the Real Numbers PH.

According to PDEA, 315,635 individuals were also arrested across 218,665 legitimate anti-drug operations since July 1, 2016, or when President Rodrigo Duterte took office.

Of the number of arrested individuals, 13,821 are considered high-value targets, broken down into the following:

• 349 foreign nationals
• 393 elected officials
• 124 uniformed personnel
• 509 government employees
• 3,785 targets listed
• 795 drug group leaders and members
• 75 armed group members
• 1,422 drug den maintainers
• 284 on wanted lists
• 24 celebrities or licensed professionals
• 6,061 from high-impact operations

Majority of the illegal substances confiscated during the operations remain to be crystal meth or shabu, which accounts for 7,330 kilograms, followed by marijuana (3,783 kilograms), cocaine (510 kilograms), ecstasy (12 kilograms).  There were also other assorted drugs worth 3,009 kilograms.

As of now, 23,270 barangays have been declared cleared from illegal drugs, while 12,125 have not been cleared, less than a year remaining into Duterte’s term.

The drug war has been a landmark program of the current administration, as Duterte promised during the campaign period for the 2016 national elections to eradicate the drug menace in the country.

However, critics have slammed the government for allegedly disregarding human rights in the process, with many claiming that the actual number of individuals slain during the drug war can be between 12,000 to 30,000.

These issues have also led the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber to allow the Office of the Prosecutor to do a full-blown investigation into allegations that Duterte committed the crime against humanity of wide-scale murder.

READ: ICC pre-trial chamber authorizes start of probe into Duterte’s drug war 

In the 57-page request made by former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, she maintained that based on information gathered by her office, there is reason to believe that state actors have killed thousands of civilians under the war against illegal drugs

She also noted that the information suggests that vigilante-style killings were perpetrated by police officers themselves, or other private individuals hired by authorities.

Malacañang and Duterte however have refused to acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction over the country, saying several times that they would not cooperate with the probe.

READ: ICC prosecutor asks for judicial authority to probe case filed vs Duterte 

JPV