MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Sunday announced that the total number of drug suspects that were killed in the government’s war against illegal drugs has reached 6,248 as of April 30.
This was revealed by PDEA through its Real Numbers PH report — a regular update on drug war statistics, which showed that a total of 341,494 suspects were arrested in the 236,620 drug war operations that began since President Rodrigo Duterte took office.
The report also showed that 10,410 barangays (villages) have yet to be “cleared” of illegal drugs, while only 25,061 of the 42,045 total barangays have been proclaimed “drug-free,” just two months before Duterte is set to end his presidential term.
Meanwhile, PDEA claimed that 15,096 of all arrested suspects were considered high-value targets, which involves the following:
- 364 foreign nationals
- 402 elected officials
- 126 uniformed personnel
- 529 government employees
- 4,043 targets listed
- 797 drug group leaders and members
- 78 armed group members
- 1,670 drug den maintainers
- 295 on wanted lists
- 24 celebrities or licensed professionals
- 6,768 from high-impact operations
Furthermore, the total value of narcotics confiscated amounts to P89.21 billion. Crystal meth or shabu continues to be the most discovered and seized illegal drug, accounting for 11,843 kilograms (kgs), followed by marijuana (10,462 kgs), cocaine (530 kgs), and ecstasy (163,483 pieces).
The CHR earlier released its 48-page report titled “Investigated Killings In Relation to the Anti-Illegal Drug Campaign.” In it, the CHR concluded that police officers involved in the “drug war” showed “intent to kill” and used “excessive force” in its anti-illegal drug operations.
READ: Duterte’s ‘drug war’ encouraged impunity, failed to protect rights – CHR report
Despite the said “official numbers,” rights organizations and watchdogs have also pegged the figures to more than 20,000.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), itself even found that at least 8,600 died in the drug war as of March 2020.
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