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by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center
Monitoring and Documentation of EJKs and Other Human Rights Violations
As the BBM–Duterte UNITEAM disintegrates amid irreconcilable differences, families affected by the so-called war on drugs continue to wait in vain for the justice they desperately seek. To add insult to injury, the ongoing Quad-Comm hearings in the Philippine Congress have deepened their pain instead of offering solace and a clear path to accountability.
Despite the tireless efforts of human rights defenders and the families of victims, injustices and widespread human rights violations persist. Those in power remain resistant to the truth, choosing instead to remain complicit in protecting former President Duterte and other key players in the so-called war on drugs.
As the International Criminal Court investigation continues, families left behind remain steadfast and undeterred in their quest for justice. They persist in fighting against the systemic injustices and human rights violations perpetuated by the Marcos Jr. administration, which continues the controversial anti-drug policies of Duterte. These families demand accountability and confront the ongoing suffering inflicted by the government’s actions within their communities.
It has been eight years since the start of the drug war, and while the Marcos Jr. administration touts a supposedly “softer” approach to battling illegal drugs, the reality of the ongoing violence is conveniently left out. As the years pass, the public also risks forgetting the painful and brutal events of the so-called war on drugs. This is why it remains crucial to hear the stories of those directly affected. As a society, we owe it to every victim to understand the pain resulting from these heinous acts against humanity.
In this report, we present findings from the Philippine Human Rights Information Center’s (PhilRights) monitoring and documentation activities, covering cases of alleged human rights violations from July 2016 to September 2024. This report also highlights four stories of families left behind after the victims’ deaths, presenting the multidimensional nature of the impact of the drug war to those left behind.
These accounts offer but a snapshot of the extensive harm caused by the so-called war on drugs. The urgent responsibility of recording these violations, preserving their memory, and collecting evidence for accountability has never been more critical.
Para sa mga biktima at kanilang mga naiwan.
Our Methodology
PhilRights’ documentation abides by the principles and investigation guidelines set by The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Deaths (2016). This document, also known as The Minnesota Protocol, was issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) to set international legal standards to prevent unlawful deaths and investigate extra-legal, summary, and arbitrary executions.
The Minnesota Protocol clarifies that a “potentially unlawful death” may (1) have been due to the acts or omission of the State, its organs or agents including law enforcers, paramilitary groups, militias or death squads allegedly “acting under the direction or with the permission or acquiescence of the State,” and “private military or security forces exercising State functions,” (2) have happened when the victim was in detention by or in custody of the State, its organs or agents, and (3) have been due to the failure of the State to fulfill its obligation in protecting life. Under international law, a “potentially unlawful death” is the product of an arbitrary, summary, or extra-legal execution or an alleged extrajudicial killing. In the event that the victim survived the incident, the violation is referred to as “frustrated or attempted extrajudicial killing.”
PhilRights works with community partners in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Quezon City, and the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal for the referral of cases that occurred from July 2016 until the present, for the monitoring of human rights situation in the communities, and for the provision of assistance to victims and their families. The information obtained from the interviews with victims, families, and witnesses are checked against media reports, police records, death certificates, and other sources of information.
Evolving Patterns: The War on Drugs Under the Marcos Jr. Administration
- Killings have continued well into the Marcos Jr. administration but have since become much less rampant.
- Cases of illegal arrest and arbitrary detention are growing in Rizal, San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan, Navotas City, Caloocan City, and Manila. In each area, illegal arrests and arbitrary detention serve as the means by which further human rights violations are committed:
- Arrests are commonly accompanied by extortion.
- Victims are taken to distant places where they are tortured and/or sexually abused before being returned to the city.
- Some victims were killed after their release and police would identify a far-fetched cause of death as a cover-up.
- Cases of the police coercing victims to produce evidence that would then be used against them were also prominent in Rizal and San Jose del Monte City.
- Police took advantage of gambling activities to apprehend individuals with trumped-up drug-related cases where the victims were coerced into admitting their “crime” on video.
- Meetings for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) were used to deceive victims into consuming drug-contaminated drinks which then immediately followed a drug test. Others were also forced to use drugs in front of a CCTV camera.
The Data
Demographics
- Most of the 255 documented drug war victims were male adults within the productive age range, family breadwinners, low- and irregular-wage earners from the informal sectors of the economy, of low educational attainment, and residents of urban poor communities.
- Around 9 in 10 of the victims were single-income earners in low-earning positions who toiled in grueling jobs for eight hours or longer, and whose employment was usually on a seasonal basis – construction workers, carpenters, house painters, porters, and electricians to name a few.
- On average, the victim contributed around 62.02% of the household income – the entirety of a meager Php 393.13 on average daily for single-source earners and Php 450.78 on average daily for multiple-source earners. This translates to around 1 in 2 of left-behind families losing their household’s primary income earners.
- Among those left behind, at least 350 children lost at least one of their parents and three children lost both parents. A victim had three dependents on the average.
- 1 in 2 resided in informal settlements, relocation sites, houses of relatives and friends, and the streets.
- Eleven (11) documented victims were victims of mistaken identities.
Modalities and Patterns
- 255 victims of extrajudicial killings were documented from May 2016 to October 2024. Most of the killings were perpetrated in previously identified hotspots in the impoverished areas of Caloocan, Manila, Malabon, Navotas, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and Bocaue, Bulacan.
- Caloocan, particularly in Bagong Silang and Tala, logged the highest number of deaths at 95, followed by Navotas at 61, Manila at 25, San Jose del Monte at 23, and Bocaue at 11. Other identified hotspots logged single-digit figures during the same time period.
- The peaks of the killings were in August 2016, August 2017, July 2018, October 2019, July 2020, and September 2020. Two in three of the victims whose time of killing was determined occurred between 6 pm and 6 am.
- Around two in five victims were killed in police operations and under police custody. Around one in five were killed in buy-bust operations reported by the police and/or media. Around two in five were killed by unidentified assailants and around one in nine were killed by drive-by riding-in-tandem assailants.
- Victims with available death certificates were reported to have erroneous, insufficient, and falsified causes of death. Nine (9) were said to have died from cardiac arrest, three (3) from pneumonia, two (2) from asphyxia, one (1) from septic shock, and one (1) from hypertension.
- More than half of all documented victims had gunshot wounds as their official cause of death with victims sustaining four gunshot wounds on average. Around one in three sustained four or more gunshot wounds. Two in three were shot in the head and neck. One in three were shot in the trunk.
- One in six of the documented victims bore signs of torture where six were alleged to have died from it alone.
- Two in three of victim families found it difficult to gain access to relevant documents like police reports. This hampered the provision of assistance from various government agencies and organizations that require these documents for their own validation.
- Around one in five of the victims’ families struggled to pay for the services of funeral parlors. Costs went from Php38,000 to as high as PhP55,000.
Other Gross Violations
- 12 incidents of Illegal searches and ransacking of victims’ homes were also documented. These searches are often accompanied by the confiscation and/or destruction of personal properties. Around one in seven victims had their cash and cell phones stolen by perpetrators.
- Around one in two documented victims were victims of illegal arrest and detention. Eleven (11) of these victims died soon after.
- Police and investigators also dissuaded victims’ families from filing cases against perpetrators through intimidation — asking families to sign waivers and sworn statements as proof that they would no longer pursue their cases.
