Extrajudicial Killings Go Beyond Duterte’s Drug War

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has gained global notoriety for launching a bloody “war on drugs” that has already killed more than 2,000 Filipinos in less than a year. But the number of killings since Duterte assumed power could be higher if we include the victims of the government’s “all-out war” against communist rebels.

Duterte’s anti-drug war, known locally as Oplan Tokhang, has been criticized already by various human rights groups for targeting mainly the poor and unarmed petty criminals. Many of the cases involved extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by state forces. According to unofficial estimates by the media, the number of drug-related killings could be more than 7,000 already, although authorities insist this is an exaggeration.

Whether the number of people killed is 2,000 or 7,000 and whether the killings are done by the police or criminal gangs, there’s no doubt that the drug war has led into a bloody frenzy in poor urban communities. Duterte is blamed for the worsening impunity because of his pledge to protect all police officers involved in the Tokhang operations.

The killings have escalated into such an alarming situation that United Nations officials have agreed to look into the matter. Duterte's anti-drug war is expected to be scrutinized at the UN Human Rights Council in May during the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review on the Philippines.

But aside from probing drug-related killings, the UN is also being asked to review the political killings under Duterte's rule. On April 10, the Karapatan group submitted a petition to UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial/Summary or Arbitrary Executions Agnes Callamard about the surge in political killings in recent months.

Karapatan claimed it recorded 47 cases of extrajudicial killings from July 2016 to March 31, 2017.

"The victims of killings are peasants, indigenous peoples, and workers; many faced harassment and vilification by the military because of their advocacy and actions to defend people’s rights and are thus considered as human rights defenders," said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general.

The killings intensified last February when Duterte declared an “all-out war” against communist rebels following the suspension of peace talks. Military operations displaced many residents and even killed innocent civilians.

Karapatan alleged that dozens of farmers were victims of extrajudicial killings after the military branded them as either “enemies of the state” or communist sympathizers.

Karapatan was joined by environmentalists and indigenous peoples who also denounced the political killings in remote communities. The group Kalikasan noted that 16 environmental activists were killed in just nine months under the Duterte administration. Meanwhile, Katribu reported that 5,000 civilians in Mindanao were affected by airstrikes conducted by the army in the past two months.

Since Duterte declared an "all-out war" last February, 23 civilian farmers and indigenous peoples have been killed, or an average of one farmer every two days as of March 29.

The military is also accused of killing a human rights activist in Basilan before tagging him a leader of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

These political killings reveal the continuing implementation of a counterinsurgency doctrine that allegedly includes civilians or suspected communist sympathizers as legitimate targets of military operations.

It was first exposed during the term of former President Gloria Arroyo after thousands of activists were killed by suspected state forces. This was the time when the term “extrajudicial killings” was first used in mainstream media. In response, the Supreme Court promulgated the Writs of Amparo and Habeas Data to protect the human rights of ordinary citizens, including activists.

The spate of killings terrorizing communities in both urban and rural areas today is a reminder to review and reject government policies that lead to rampant human rights abuses. It must be emphasized that even before Duterte launched his ill-conceived “war on drugs,” the state was already accused of committing extrajudicial crimes. Aside from endorsing the bloody anti-drug campaign, Duterte has to be made accountable for failing to stop the extrajudicial killings that have victimized activists, farmers, and human rights defenders.