CITATIONS

8 May 2024

Pena di Morte per Droga: 467 Esecuzioni nel 2023

Leonardo Fiorentini, l’Unita

Così tante da richiamare l’attenzione della Corte Penale Internazionale e da spingere Duterte a uscire dal trattato istitutivo per provare a evitarne il giudizio. Anche dopo l’arrivo alla Presidenza di Ferdinand Marcos Jr. la guerra pare continuare, pur con numeri minori: sono 621 le vittime stimate dall’ascesa al potere del figlio dell’ex dittatore Marcos ad oggi, secondo il Dahas Project dell’Università delle Filippine. Read full report 

8 May 2024

Drug Killings Go On; Journalists Must Keep Probing 

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism 

As of April 30, Dahas has recorded 639 killings on Marcos’ watch. It is a project of the Third World Studies Center of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of the Philippines Diliman that keeps track of the drug war killings. Read full report 

April 2024

The State of the World’s Human Rights

Amnesty International

Extrajudicial executions in the context of the “war on drugs” that started in 2016 continued into the second year of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, despite his public pronouncements that the campaign against illicit drugs would focus on treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration. According to media monitoring by the university-based research group Dahas, at least 329 people were killed in 2023 by state agents during police-led anti-drug operations or by unknown individuals. Read full report

25 April 2024

DFA: State Dep’t Assessment of Rights Situation Misleading

Ashzel Hachero, Malaya Business Insight

The State Department report cited data from non-government organization Dahas PH which said that there were 209 killings related to the government’s anti-drug campaign from January to August 2023. It also used data from the Commission on Human Rights, an independent government office constitutionally responsible for investigating possible human rights violations, which said that it investigated 51 new complaints of alleged extrajudicial or politically motivated killings as of July last year. The cases involved 82 victims and were allegedly perpetrated by six PNP personnel, two members of the military, seven insurgents, four civilians, and 33 unidentified persons. Read full report

25 April 2024

DOJ Chief: EJK, Shortcuts End 

Alvin Murcia, Daily Tribune

This was contained in a 58-page Country Report on Human Rights Practices wherein the State Department said the human rights situation in the Philippines showed “no significant changes.” The report said though that the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and “some other abuses by government agents” decreased in 2023. It attributed the EJKs to the “arbitrary or unlawful killings by police in connection with antidrug operations” as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued the war on drugs started by his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte. Citing data from the non-governmental organization Dahas PH, the State Department said there were 209 killings related to anti-drug operations from January to August 2023. Report full report

24 April 2024

Marcos Urged to Make ‘Explicit’ Order Stopping Bloody Drug War 

Jodesz Gavilan, Rappler  

There have been at least 612 drug-related killings across the Philippines between July 1, 2022 and April 15, 2024, according to monitoring conducted by the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. Out of this number, 264 were killed by state agents, or members of the police force. In its report, Amnesty highlighted the continued killings in the Philippines and the culture of impunity “remained entrenched” as evident in the lack of justice for drug war victims. Read full report

24 April 2024

Remulla: DOJ Taking Steps to Hold Erring Law Enforcers in EJKs Accountable

Joahnah Lei Casilao

At a press conference in Quezon City, Amnesty International Philippines director Butch Olano said Marcos should “make an explicit and categorical policy pronouncement to end the so-called war on drugs and EJKs.” Citing data from UP’s Dahas Project, which documents drug-related killings, Olano said there were 329 individuals killed in 2023. He also said UP’s Third World Studies Center found that 342 individuals were killed from June 2022 to June 2023. Due to this, he said there were at least 600 people killed during the first 19 months of the Marcos administration. Read full report

24 April 2024

EJKs in PH Persisted in 2023, Says Amnesty International

Joahna Lei Casilao, GMA Integrated News 

In a press conference in Quezon City, Amnesty International Philippines director Butch Olano said Marcos should “make an explicit and categorical policy pronouncement to end the so-called war on drugs and EJKs. Citing data from UP’s Dahas Project, which documents drug-related killings, Olano said there were 329 individuals killed in 2023. He also said UP’s Third World Studies Center found that 342 individuals were killed from June 2022 to June 2023. Due to this, he said there were at least 600 people killed during the first 19 months of the Marcos administration. Read full report

17 April 2024

EJKs Remain A Serious Problem in PH — US Gov’t Report

Joahna Lei Casilao, GMA Integrated News 

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the US Department of State to the US Congress.
Despite this, the State Dept. said the number of EJKs in the country decreased in 2023.”There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in the Philippines during the year, although the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and of some other abuses by government agents decreased,” the report stated. Citing data from a non-governmental organization, the department stated that there were 209 killings related to anti-drug operations from January to August 2023. It said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also investigated 51 new complaints of alleged EJKs or politically motivated killings. Read full report

17 April 2024

Philippines’ Marcos Takes Swipe at Duterte Over Record Drug Bust

Benar News, Eurasia Review News & Analysis

Marcos has said that the drug war will continue, even as the approach will be different and focus more on rehabilitating suspects. Still, officer-involved killings have continued under his watch. Data from the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines that tracks down drug-related killings show that 611 suspects have been slain since Marcos assumed the presidency in 2022 until April 7 of this year. Read full report

16 April 2024

Drug Bust in Philippines Leads to Seizure of 1.8 Tonnes of Methamphetamine 

Nelson Walters, Barron’s

Since taking office in June 2022, Marcos has overseen more than 600 drug-related killings, according to data from the Dahas research project. While the numbers remain high, human rights advocates have pointed to the recent drug bust as evidence that drug enforcement can be carried out without resorting to violence if authorities follow due process. Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, called on the Marcos administration to declare an end to the violent drug war and to retract Duterte’s orders for a harsh crackdown. Conde emphasized the need for Marcos to align his drug policy with his rhetoric on reform and to prioritize non-violent approaches to addressing drug issues in the Philippines. Read full report  

16 April 2024

Philippines Seizes 1.8 Tonnes of Meth in Drug Bust 

Agence France Press, Barron’s

The drug war has continued under Marcos even though he has pushed for more emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation. More than 600 people have been killed in drug-related killings since he took power in June 2022, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps a count of such killings. Read full report 

7 April 2024

Philippines: New ‘Drug War’ Declared in Davao City

 Human Rights Watch

These recent killings in Davao City are merely a spike in a “drug war” that has never stopped, Human Rights Watch said. The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center has reported that since Duterte became mayor in June 2022, Davao del Sur, the city’s greater provincial area, has had more drug-related killings than any other area in the country, including Metro Manila.  Read full report

25 March 2024

Abuse of Power: Under Marcos, War on Drugs Drags on in Manila

DW Bureau, DT Next 

Dahas recorded 342 drug casualties from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at an average rate of 0.9 deaths per day, a tad higher than the 0.8 daily average during Duterte’s last year in office. The project logged 165 more deaths during the last six months of 2023, and 29 each in January and February this year. Duterte’s years-long anti-drug campaign left thousands of people dead, as a result of either police operations or vigilante killings. Read full report 

24 March 2024

Violencia Policial y Asisenatos en Masa: Cómo Continúa la Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico en Filipinas

PorCanal26

El proyecto Dahas de la Universidad de Filipinas registró 342 víctimas del narcotráfico entre el 1 de julio de 2022 y el 30 de junio de 2023, a un ritmo de aproximadamente 0,9 muertes por día en promedio, un poco más que la media diaria de 0,8 durante el último año de mandato de Duterte. En los últimos seis meses del año pasado, en la investigación reportaron 165 muertes, y 29 en los primeros dos meses de 2024. Read full report 

24 March 2024

Philippinen: Drogenkrieg Geht Unvermindert Weiter

Nikka Valenzuela, Deutsche Welle

“Aber Statistiken über die Tötungen im Zusammenhang mit Drogen zeichnen ein anderes Bild. Daten des Dahas-Projekts, einer Initiative der Universität der Philippinen, zeigen, dass sich die Gewalt auf dem gleichen Niveau fortsetzt wie während der Präsidentschaft unter Duterte. Dahas verzeichnete vom 1. Juli 2022 bis zum 30. Juni 2023 die Zahl von 342 Tötungen, was durchschnittlich 0,9 Todesfällen pro Tag entspricht und damit sogar etwas mehr als der Tagesdurchschnitt von 0,8 im letzten Amtsjahr des umstrittenen Präsident Duterte.” Read full report

22 March 2024

Guerra Antidrogas das Filipinas Continua Letal Sob Marcos

DW, UOL

“During a recent visit to Germany, he told Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz that, during his term, the anti-drug campaign had ‘completely changed’ to prevention and rehabilitation. However, the numbers of homicides related to this ‘war’ form a very different picture: according to data from the Dahas project, an initiative of the University of the Philippines, drug-related violence remains at the same level as in the previous administration.” Read full report

21 March 2024

Philippines Drug War: What Changed Under President Marcos?

Deutsche Welle, Taiwan News 

“In a recent visit to Germany, the Philippine president told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the drug campaign has ‘completely changed’ to prevention and rehabilitation during his tenure. But the numbers on the continuing drug-related killings paint a different picture. Data from the Dahas project, an initiative of the University of the Philippines, show that the drug violence continues at the same level as it was under President Duterte. Dahas recorded 342 drug casualties from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at an average rate of 0.9 deaths per day, a tad higher than the 0.8 daily average during Duterte’s last year in office.” Read full report

14 March 2024

Marcos to Germany: ICC Has No Power to Probe Duterte for Drug Deaths

Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Business World Online 

“The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center’s Dahas project had said there were 342 drug-related killings a year into Mr. Marcos’ term, including 115 deaths during police drug raids.” Read full report

14 March 2024

Drug War| Rights Group Refutes Marcos’ Remarks on ‘Changed’ Drug War Policy

Clarist Zaplan, News5

“The killings have continued under the Marcos Jr. administration, with 342 drug-related killings reported during the first year of his term, according to the Dahas project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC).” Read full report 

5 March 2024

‘Left Behind’ Families Look to ICC for Philippines Drug War Justice

Nick Aspinwall, Al Jazeera

“Philippine National Police chief Benjamin Acorda Jr admitted in February that people were still killed in police drug operations after Dahas project data showed there had been 28 drug-related killings in January. . . He insisted the killings were not intentional.” Read full report. 

12 February 2024

PNP: PH Crime Rate Drops 27.6% from Jan. 1 to Feb. 10

Christopher Lloyd Caliwan, PNA

“Acorda further reiterated that extrajudicial killings are not part of PNP’s operational doctrine . . . ‘We don’t condone extrajudicial killings and these allegations of Dahas, we welcome them. If they have some facts or circumstances and witnesses that will say otherwise to what was reported to our units on the ground, we welcome them because again as I have said, we want our operations to be aggressive but we want it done honestly and we respect what we call rights of every individual na hinuhuli (who is arrested),’ he said.” Read full report.

12 February 2024

PNP Chief Brushes Off Claims of Extrajudicial Killings Under Marcos Admin

Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo

“Acorda made the statement following the release of data under University of the Philippines Diliman’s ‘Project Dahas,’ which showed that 28 individuals were killed in anti-illegal drug operations in January 2024 . . . It said 14 of which were killed by unidentified assailants while nine were killed by policemen . . . Acorda admitted that there were drug-related killings during police anti-illegal drug operations.” Read full report

9 February 2024

A Brutal Death and Marcos’s Broken Promise of a ‘Bloodless’ Drug Policy

Sean Marcus Ingalla, Philippine Collegian

“In the same month, Congress hailed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ‘bloodless’ drug war campaign. This claim did not align with the numbers: drug-related killings under Marcos’s first year in office surpassed the death toll of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s last year as a president, according to monitoring project Dahas by the UP Third World Studies Center. Bloodshed, as in the case of Chrismel, is still enabled by conditions of continued impunity under Marcos’s drug campaign.” Read full report 

25 January 2024

The Hitman, the Bodies, the Prisoners

Cordelia Lynch, Sky News

The killings haven’t stopped though. The Dahas Project out of the University of the Philippines recorded more drug-related killings in the first year of Marcos Jr’s presidency than the final one of Duterte. It does appear the violence has now pushed into the provinces outside of Manila and further south in Davao City. Read full report 

4 January 2024

Philippines: Bone Diggers Seek Justice for Dead in Duterte’s Drug War

Linda Pressly, BBC News, Manila

“But the Dahas Project at the University of the Philippines recorded 342 drug-related killings in Mr Marcos’ first year – 40 more than in the last year of Mr Duterte’s rule. And they say around 40% of those killed were small-time users and dealers.” Read full report. 

31 December 2023

Philippines Drug War Victims Look to ICC for Justice as Killings Continue Under Marcos Jr

Steve Zhang, ABC News AU

““The assumption would be that because there’s no belligerent rhetoric from Ferdinand Marcos Jr, this will be a less violent presidency. But the numbers do not sustain that particular view,” said Joel Ariate who runs Dahas, a project tracking drug-related killings established by the University of the Philippines Diliman and Ghent University.” Read full report.

7 December 2023

Dangeorus Drugs Act | Philippines Eyes Review of Anti-Drug Law – Justice Official 

Clarist Zablan, News5

“At least 6,000 suspected drug offenders were killed in anti-drug operations during the Duterte administration, based on police data. But human rights groups peg the death toll from his drug war policy at as high as 30,000, including vigilante killings. But human rights groups have noted that the killings have continued well into the Marcos Jr. administration. Dahas, a project of the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC), tallied at least 342 drug-related killings during Marcos’ first year as president.” Read full report 

17 November 2023

As Philippines’ Drug War Rolls On, Christians Continue Their Work

Beng Alba-Jones, Christianity Today

“Since taking office, Marcos has established more than 100 community-based drug rehab centers that provide drug users with temporary shelter and reintegrate them into society. Today there are nearly 500 of these centers, called Balay Silangan Reformation Centers, in the Philippines. However, during the first year of Marcos’s presidency, the number of drug-related killings actually increased from the last year of Duterte’s term, according to a recent report by the Dahas Project at the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. They counted 342 killings from Marcos’s inauguration in July 2022 until June 2023, 40 more than the previous year. Of that number, state agents killed a total of 146 people.” Read full report 

1 November 2023

61 Killed Under Marcos Admin As ‘War Against Illegal Drugs’ Continues in Philippines

Riyaz ul Khaliq, Anadolu Ajansi

“Data from Dahas, a monitoring project run by the University of the Philippines, however, revealed: ‘There were 175 drug-related killings in the country during Marcos’ first few months as President, or between 12 noon of June 30 and December 31, 2022.'” Read full report

1 November 2023

Rodrigo Duterte’s Legacy

Margaret Simons, Inside Story

“It’s true that the number of killings is lower than the peak in 2016–17. But the best available figures, compiled by the Dahas project of the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines, show that deaths, far from easing under Marcos, are more common than in the last years of the Duterte administration. (Dahas acknowledges that its figures are underestimates; they are drawn entirely from the media, which doesn’t report many fatalities.) Read full report

11 October 2023

Oral Statement Given During the General Debate on the 

Ahmed Adam on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

“The highly militarised drug war, despite the objective to implement a rights based-approach, continues to claim lives. Independent monitoring group Dahas documented over 250 drug related killings this year alone. At least 45 per cent of these were committed by state agents. There has been no tangible progress towards accountability for the widespread killings.” Read full report 

26 September 2023

The Courtroom in Caloocan

Bryan Lau, The Dial 

“On July 18, the ICC announced that the Philippine government had lost the appeal. The justice secretary, Crispin Remulla, under President Marcos, who had replaced Duterte in June 2022, denounced the ICC for foreign interference. The drug war continues: 342 people died in drug-related killings during the first year under Marcos, according to the Dahas database maintained by the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines. The president seems unlikely to repudiate the drug war, as long as he remains allied with his predecessor, whose daughter, Sara Z. Duterte, is the current vice president.” Read full report 

6 September 2023

Philippines Records Highest Weekly Deaths in ‘War on Drugs’: Monitoring Program 

Necva Tastan, Anadolu Ajansi

“The Philippines, during the first week of this month, has recorded the highest number of weekly deaths of the year in the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ a monitoring program has claimed . . . Among the 14 fatalities, ’11 were caused by state agents’ in the northeastern Davao City of the Philippines, the monitoring project Dahas run by the University of the Philippines showed.” Read full report. 

3 September 2023

Philippines: ‘The Government is Headed by a Former Dictator’s Son Who Reached Power in a Suspicious Manner’ 

CIVICUS

“However, while the focus on the drug problem remains, there has been a discursive shift from Duterte’s punitive and violent approach to an anti-drug campaign emphasising prevention and rehabilitation. But this hasn’t translated into an end to extrajudicial killings, which continue unabated in impoverished urban areas that are known to be havens for drug-related activities. Dahas, a research group from the University of the Philippines, reported 342 instances of drug-related killings carried out by state and non-state groups and people during the first year of the new government. The targets of the anti-drug campaign continue to be minor drug users and low-level peddlers. As happened under the previous administration, prominent drug lords remain untouched.” Read full report 

21 July 2023

Philippines Will Not Cooperate with ICC in Drug War Probe: Marcos

AFP, The Straits Times  

“More than 350 drug-related killings have been recorded since Mr Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of such killings.” Read full report

21 July 2023

Marcos Says Philippines is ‘Done Talking’ with ICC 

Agence France Press

“More than 350 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of such killings.” Report full report 

28 June 2023

Philippines Drugs Crackdown Continues as Marcos Jr. Marks First Anniversary

Chris Fitzgerald, Globe: Lines of Thought Across Southeast Asia 

“But despite Marcos Jr.’s highly-publicised promises, 2023 has been no different. The Dahas reporting project tracked 148 drug-related killings between January and 7 June. Last month was the deadliest so far, with 37 killings. Overall, 323 people have died in drug-related circumstances since Marcos Jr. took power . This shows the war on drugs continues unabated, costing more lives.” Read full report

15 June 2023

Rappler Shows How ‘Drug War’ Violence Continues Under Marcos

CMFR Staff, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility 

“The second part of the report produced a timeline following the statements made by Marcos and other government officials on illegal drugs. Gavilan also examined the data depicting the continuing ‘drug war’ under Marcos, showing up the different numbers published by government agencies and by Dahas, a project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. ” Read full report  

8 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos?

Cecil Morella, The Japan Times 

“More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings. That includes 175 in the first six months of Marcos’s presidency. In November, police acknowledged that 46 drug suspects had been killed since he took office.” Read full report 

7 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos?

Cecil Morella, Barron’s

“More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings. That includes 175 in the first six months of Marcos’s presidency. In November, police acknowledged that 46 drug suspects had been killed since he took office.” Read full report

7 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos? 

AFP, France 24

“Marcos has continued the crackdown but has pushed for more focus on prevention and rehabilitation. He told police to go after major drug dealers and not ‘the kid who makes 100 pesos ($2) a week selling weed.’ Yet the bodies keep piling up. More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings.” Read full report 

9 March 2023

On the Philippine Government’s Statements at the UNHRC and the Marcos-Duterte Admin’s Human Rights Coordinating Council

KARAPATAN

“Drug war killings continue, with the University of the Philippine’s Dahas project recording 565 drug-related killings under the current administration. Convictions of police perpetrators during the previous Duterte administration are a drop in the bucket while masterminds such as Duterte and his cohorts remain unscathed—which is why victims’ families have continuously looked to the International Criminal Court for redress.” Read full report 

7 March 2023

Marcos’ “War on Drugs” Kills 58 People in 2024

Ang Bayan 

“According to its research, ‘drug-related’ killings have increased again since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office. Although number were high during the Duterte regime, the pattern of killings show a downtrend since its 2017 peak under the leadership of Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa. In 2022, for example, Dahas PH recorded 175 murders in the first six months of Marcos (July-December), higher by 26 than the 149 murders in the last six months of the Duterte regime (January-June 2022). In the following year, the number of victims increased further, from 324 in 2022 to 331 for 2023.” Read full report 

8 February 2023

Atrocity Alert No. 334: Nigeria, Philippines and Wagner Group

Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect 

“Although the majority of deaths took place between 2016-2018, the police and armed vigilantes continue to perpetrate extrajudicial killings of those perceived to be involved in illicit drug activity, including since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. The University of the Philippines’ Dahas program, which monitors reported drug-related killings, documented 324 people killed in drug-related incidents during 2022, including 175 in the first six months that President Marcos Jr. was in power.” Read full report 

18 December 2022

Groups Slam BBM-Sara Admin’s Human Rights Record

Davao Today

“In the first five months or from July 1 to November 30 of the current administration, data from the Dahas Project showed 152 drug-related killings. The number exceeded the 149 cases recorded during the final six months or from January 1 to June 30 this year of former president Rodrigo Duterte.” Read full report

10 December 2022

On Human Rights Day, Rights Group Assails Zero Justice for Killings, Rights Violantions under Marcos Jr.

Jonas Alpasan, Bulatlat

“The Third World Studies Center’s Dahas project has also documented at least 150 drug-related killings in the first five months of the Marcos Jr. administration. ‘Despite these sordid figures, there has been zero justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings. The culture of impunity continues to rear its ugly head,’ said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.” Read full report

5 December 2022

Philippines: Events of 2022

Human Rights Watch

“Soon after taking office on June 30, President Marcos stated he would continue the “war against drugs” initiated by his predecessor. While Marcos claimed his administration would do a “slightly different” anti-drug campaign by focusing on the rehabilitation of drug users, the unlawful use of force by the police and government agents continued. Monitoring by Dahas, a program run by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, found that at least 90 people had been killed in what the center termed “drug-related violence” in the period since Marcos’ inauguration and September 30.” Read full report

16 November 2022

PNP: 46 Killed in Drug War Under Marcos ‘Very Minimal’

Dexter Cabalza, Philippine Daily Inquirer 

“The 46 reported by Azurin and the 57 recorded by Dahas show a sharp drop from the more than 1,600 reported deaths of suspected drug offenders—users and dealers— killed in police operations in less than four months since Mr. Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, took office on June 30, 2016.” Read full report. 

19 September 2022

Uccisioni illegali nelle Filippine: necessaria un’indagine delle Nazioni Unite

Dexter Cabalza, Inquirer.net

“In un documento politico presentato agli Stati membri delle Nazioni Unite, la Human Rights Watch ha affermato che le uccisioni extragiudiziali nella “guerra alla droga” del governo filippino si verificano ancora regolarmente. Dahas (un programma del Centro Studi sul Terzo Mondo dell’Università delle Filippine) ha riportato 72 omicidi legati alla droga dopo che il presidente Ferdinand Marcos Jr. è entrato in carica il 30 giugno. I dati ufficiali del governo indicano che la polizia ha ucciso 71 persone dall’agosto 2021, portando a 6.252 il numero totale di omicidi denunciati dalla polizia tra luglio 2016 e maggio 2022. Il presidente Marcos non ha ripudiato gli abusi nella “guerra alla droga”, dichiarando di voler mantenere la linea adottata.” Read full report 

12 September 2022

UN Still Needs to Scrutinize the Philippines

Carlos H. Conde, Inquirer.net, Human Rights Watch

“Drug-related killings remain commonplace. Dahas, a program of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, found by looking at police and media reports that there were more drug-related killings—in which the victim had alleged links to the illicit drug trade—in July, the first month of the Marcos Jr. presidency, than in June, the last month of the Duterte administration. Altogether, 72 drug-related killings were recorded in July and August.” Read full report. 

12 September 2022

Watchdog Group Urges UN to Scrutinize Philippine Drug-related Killings Under Marcos

Camille Elemia, Benar News 

“Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office on June 30, 72 drug-related shootings by police have occurred in the Philippines, New York-based HRW said, citing Dahas, a program of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines that tracks media-reported drug deaths.” Read full report 

12 September 2022

Philippines: Strong UN Human Rights Council Action Needed

Human Rights Watch

“In a policy paper submitted to UN member states, Human Rights Watch said that extrajudicial killings in the Philippine government’s ‘war on drugs’ still occur on a regular basis. Dahas, a program of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, has reported 72 drug-related killings after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office on June 30. Official government figures indicate that the police killed 71 people since August 2021, bringing the total number of killings reported by the police between July 2016 and May 2022 to 6,252. President Marcos has not repudiated abuses in the ‘drug war,’ which he said he would continue.” Read full report

23 July 2021

Duterte Drug War Has Killed 2 Per Day, Says UP Study

Krixia Subingsubing, Inquirer.net

“The police have arbitrary ways of determining drug war deaths, which could obscure the real count,” Ariate pointed out. “It’s important to have a debate about this and make public these data so not all deaths can be simplified into ‘nanlaban’ (resisting arrest) . . . As such, the “Dahas” database—“dahas” is the Filipino word for violence—uses at least 27 criteria to assess each death: information on the victim (age, gender, occupation), incident (time, date, location) and assailants (state agent, nonstate agent, unknown), said Noriega. Read full report

8 May 2024

Pena di Morte per Droga: 467 Esecuzioni nel 2023

Leonardo Fiorentini, l’Unita

Così tante da richiamare l’attenzione della Corte Penale Internazionale e da spingere Duterte a uscire dal trattato istitutivo per provare a evitarne il giudizio. Anche dopo l’arrivo alla Presidenza di Ferdinand Marcos Jr. la guerra pare continuare, pur con numeri minori: sono 621 le vittime stimate dall’ascesa al potere del figlio dell’ex dittatore Marcos ad oggi, secondo il Dahas Project dell’Università delle Filippine. Read full report 

8 May 2024

Drug Killings Go On; Journalists Must Keep Probing 

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism 

As of April 30, Dahas has recorded 639 killings on Marcos’ watch. It is a project of the Third World Studies Center of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of the Philippines Diliman that keeps track of the drug war killings. Read full report 

April 2024

The State of the World’s Human Rights

Amnesty International

Extrajudicial executions in the context of the “war on drugs” that started in 2016 continued into the second year of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, despite his public pronouncements that the campaign against illicit drugs would focus on treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration. According to media monitoring by the university-based research group Dahas, at least 329 people were killed in 2023 by state agents during police-led anti-drug operations or by unknown individuals. Read full report

25 April 2024

DFA: State Dep’t Assessment of Rights Situation Misleading

Ashzel Hachero, Malaya Business Insight

The State Department report cited data from non-government organization Dahas PH which said that there were 209 killings related to the government’s anti-drug campaign from January to August 2023. It also used data from the Commission on Human Rights, an independent government office constitutionally responsible for investigating possible human rights violations, which said that it investigated 51 new complaints of alleged extrajudicial or politically motivated killings as of July last year. The cases involved 82 victims and were allegedly perpetrated by six PNP personnel, two members of the military, seven insurgents, four civilians, and 33 unidentified persons. Read full report

25 April 2024

DOJ Chief: EJK, Shortcuts End 

Alvin Murcia, Daily Tribune

This was contained in a 58-page Country Report on Human Rights Practices wherein the State Department said the human rights situation in the Philippines showed “no significant changes.” The report said though that the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and “some other abuses by government agents” decreased in 2023. It attributed the EJKs to the “arbitrary or unlawful killings by police in connection with antidrug operations” as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued the war on drugs started by his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte. Citing data from the non-governmental organization Dahas PH, the State Department said there were 209 killings related to anti-drug operations from January to August 2023. Report full report

24 April 2024

Marcos Urged to Make ‘Explicit’ Order Stopping Bloody Drug War 

Jodesz Gavilan, Rappler  

There have been at least 612 drug-related killings across the Philippines between July 1, 2022 and April 15, 2024, according to monitoring conducted by the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. Out of this number, 264 were killed by state agents, or members of the police force. In its report, Amnesty highlighted the continued killings in the Philippines and the culture of impunity “remained entrenched” as evident in the lack of justice for drug war victims. Read full report

24 April 2024

Remulla: DOJ Taking Steps to Hold Erring Law Enforcers in EJKs Accountable

Joahnah Lei Casilao

At a press conference in Quezon City, Amnesty International Philippines director Butch Olano said Marcos should “make an explicit and categorical policy pronouncement to end the so-called war on drugs and EJKs.” Citing data from UP’s Dahas Project, which documents drug-related killings, Olano said there were 329 individuals killed in 2023. He also said UP’s Third World Studies Center found that 342 individuals were killed from June 2022 to June 2023. Due to this, he said there were at least 600 people killed during the first 19 months of the Marcos administration. Read full report

24 April 2024

EJKs in PH Persisted in 2023, Says Amnesty International

Joahna Lei Casilao, GMA Integrated News 

In a press conference in Quezon City, Amnesty International Philippines director Butch Olano said Marcos should “make an explicit and categorical policy pronouncement to end the so-called war on drugs and EJKs. Citing data from UP’s Dahas Project, which documents drug-related killings, Olano said there were 329 individuals killed in 2023. He also said UP’s Third World Studies Center found that 342 individuals were killed from June 2022 to June 2023. Due to this, he said there were at least 600 people killed during the first 19 months of the Marcos administration. Read full report

17 April 2024

EJKs Remain A Serious Problem in PH — US Gov’t Report

Joahna Lei Casilao, GMA Integrated News 

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the US Department of State to the US Congress.
Despite this, the State Dept. said the number of EJKs in the country decreased in 2023.”There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in the Philippines during the year, although the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and of some other abuses by government agents decreased,” the report stated. Citing data from a non-governmental organization, the department stated that there were 209 killings related to anti-drug operations from January to August 2023. It said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also investigated 51 new complaints of alleged EJKs or politically motivated killings. Read full report

17 April 2024

Philippines’ Marcos Takes Swipe at Duterte Over Record Drug Bust

Benar News, Eurasia Review News & Analysis

Marcos has said that the drug war will continue, even as the approach will be different and focus more on rehabilitating suspects. Still, officer-involved killings have continued under his watch. Data from the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines that tracks down drug-related killings show that 611 suspects have been slain since Marcos assumed the presidency in 2022 until April 7 of this year. Read full report

16 April 2024

Drug Bust in Philippines Leads to Seizure of 1.8 Tonnes of Methamphetamine 

Nelson Walters, Barron’s

Since taking office in June 2022, Marcos has overseen more than 600 drug-related killings, according to data from the Dahas research project. While the numbers remain high, human rights advocates have pointed to the recent drug bust as evidence that drug enforcement can be carried out without resorting to violence if authorities follow due process. Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, called on the Marcos administration to declare an end to the violent drug war and to retract Duterte’s orders for a harsh crackdown. Conde emphasized the need for Marcos to align his drug policy with his rhetoric on reform and to prioritize non-violent approaches to addressing drug issues in the Philippines. Read full report  

16 April 2024

Philippines Seizes 1.8 Tonnes of Meth in Drug Bust 

Agence France Press, Barron’s

The drug war has continued under Marcos even though he has pushed for more emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation. More than 600 people have been killed in drug-related killings since he took power in June 2022, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps a count of such killings. Read full report 

7 April 2024

Philippines: New ‘Drug War’ Declared in Davao City

 Human Rights Watch

These recent killings in Davao City are merely a spike in a “drug war” that has never stopped, Human Rights Watch said. The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center has reported that since Duterte became mayor in June 2022, Davao del Sur, the city’s greater provincial area, has had more drug-related killings than any other area in the country, including Metro Manila.  Read full report

25 March 2024

Abuse of Power: Under Marcos, War on Drugs Drags on in Manila

DW Bureau, DT Next 

Dahas recorded 342 drug casualties from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at an average rate of 0.9 deaths per day, a tad higher than the 0.8 daily average during Duterte’s last year in office. The project logged 165 more deaths during the last six months of 2023, and 29 each in January and February this year. Duterte’s years-long anti-drug campaign left thousands of people dead, as a result of either police operations or vigilante killings. Read full report 

24 March 2024

Violencia Policial y Asisenatos en Masa: Cómo Continúa la Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico en Filipinas

PorCanal26

El proyecto Dahas de la Universidad de Filipinas registró 342 víctimas del narcotráfico entre el 1 de julio de 2022 y el 30 de junio de 2023, a un ritmo de aproximadamente 0,9 muertes por día en promedio, un poco más que la media diaria de 0,8 durante el último año de mandato de Duterte. En los últimos seis meses del año pasado, en la investigación reportaron 165 muertes, y 29 en los primeros dos meses de 2024. Read full report 

24 March 2024

Philippinen: Drogenkrieg Geht Unvermindert Weiter

Nikka Valenzuela, Deutsche Welle

“Aber Statistiken über die Tötungen im Zusammenhang mit Drogen zeichnen ein anderes Bild. Daten des Dahas-Projekts, einer Initiative der Universität der Philippinen, zeigen, dass sich die Gewalt auf dem gleichen Niveau fortsetzt wie während der Präsidentschaft unter Duterte. Dahas verzeichnete vom 1. Juli 2022 bis zum 30. Juni 2023 die Zahl von 342 Tötungen, was durchschnittlich 0,9 Todesfällen pro Tag entspricht und damit sogar etwas mehr als der Tagesdurchschnitt von 0,8 im letzten Amtsjahr des umstrittenen Präsident Duterte.” Read full report

22 March 2024

Guerra Antidrogas das Filipinas Continua Letal Sob Marcos

DW, UOL

“During a recent visit to Germany, he told Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz that, during his term, the anti-drug campaign had ‘completely changed’ to prevention and rehabilitation. However, the numbers of homicides related to this ‘war’ form a very different picture: according to data from the Dahas project, an initiative of the University of the Philippines, drug-related violence remains at the same level as in the previous administration.” Read full report

21 March 2024

Philippines Drug War: What Changed Under President Marcos?

Deutsche Welle, Taiwan News 

“In a recent visit to Germany, the Philippine president told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the drug campaign has ‘completely changed’ to prevention and rehabilitation during his tenure. But the numbers on the continuing drug-related killings paint a different picture. Data from the Dahas project, an initiative of the University of the Philippines, show that the drug violence continues at the same level as it was under President Duterte. Dahas recorded 342 drug casualties from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at an average rate of 0.9 deaths per day, a tad higher than the 0.8 daily average during Duterte’s last year in office.” Read full report

14 March 2024

Marcos to Germany: ICC Has No Power to Probe Duterte for Drug Deaths

Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Business World Online 

“The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center’s Dahas project had said there were 342 drug-related killings a year into Mr. Marcos’ term, including 115 deaths during police drug raids.” Read full report

14 March 2024

Drug War| Rights Group Refutes Marcos’ Remarks on ‘Changed’ Drug War Policy

Clarist Zaplan, News5

“The killings have continued under the Marcos Jr. administration, with 342 drug-related killings reported during the first year of his term, according to the Dahas project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC).” Read full report 

5 March 2024

‘Left Behind’ Families Look to ICC for Philippines Drug War Justice

Nick Aspinwall, Al Jazeera

“Philippine National Police chief Benjamin Acorda Jr admitted in February that people were still killed in police drug operations after Dahas project data showed there had been 28 drug-related killings in January. . . He insisted the killings were not intentional.” Read full report. 

12 February 2024

PNP: PH Crime Rate Drops 27.6% from Jan. 1 to Feb. 10

Christopher Lloyd Caliwan, PNA

“Acorda further reiterated that extrajudicial killings are not part of PNP’s operational doctrine . . . ‘We don’t condone extrajudicial killings and these allegations of Dahas, we welcome them. If they have some facts or circumstances and witnesses that will say otherwise to what was reported to our units on the ground, we welcome them because again as I have said, we want our operations to be aggressive but we want it done honestly and we respect what we call rights of every individual na hinuhuli (who is arrested),’ he said.” Read full report.

12 February 2024

PNP Chief Brushes Off Claims of Extrajudicial Killings Under Marcos Admin

Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo

“Acorda made the statement following the release of data under University of the Philippines Diliman’s ‘Project Dahas,’ which showed that 28 individuals were killed in anti-illegal drug operations in January 2024 . . . It said 14 of which were killed by unidentified assailants while nine were killed by policemen . . . Acorda admitted that there were drug-related killings during police anti-illegal drug operations.” Read full report

9 February 2024

A Brutal Death and Marcos’s Broken Promise of a ‘Bloodless’ Drug Policy

Sean Marcus Ingalla, Philippine Collegian

“In the same month, Congress hailed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ‘bloodless’ drug war campaign. This claim did not align with the numbers: drug-related killings under Marcos’s first year in office surpassed the death toll of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s last year as a president, according to monitoring project Dahas by the UP Third World Studies Center. Bloodshed, as in the case of Chrismel, is still enabled by conditions of continued impunity under Marcos’s drug campaign.” Read full report 

25 January 2024

The Hitman, the Bodies, the Prisoners

Cordelia Lynch, Sky News

The killings haven’t stopped though. The Dahas Project out of the University of the Philippines recorded more drug-related killings in the first year of Marcos Jr’s presidency than the final one of Duterte. It does appear the violence has now pushed into the provinces outside of Manila and further south in Davao City. Read full report 

4 January 2024

Philippines: Bone Diggers Seek Justice for Dead in Duterte’s Drug War

Linda Pressly, BBC News, Manila

“But the Dahas Project at the University of the Philippines recorded 342 drug-related killings in Mr Marcos’ first year – 40 more than in the last year of Mr Duterte’s rule. And they say around 40% of those killed were small-time users and dealers.” Read full report. 

31 December 2023

Philippines Drug War Victims Look to ICC for Justice as Killings Continue Under Marcos Jr

Steve Zhang, ABC News AU

““The assumption would be that because there’s no belligerent rhetoric from Ferdinand Marcos Jr, this will be a less violent presidency. But the numbers do not sustain that particular view,” said Joel Ariate who runs Dahas, a project tracking drug-related killings established by the University of the Philippines Diliman and Ghent University.” Read full report.

7 December 2023

Dangeorus Drugs Act | Philippines Eyes Review of Anti-Drug Law – Justice Official 

Clarist Zablan, News5

“At least 6,000 suspected drug offenders were killed in anti-drug operations during the Duterte administration, based on police data. But human rights groups peg the death toll from his drug war policy at as high as 30,000, including vigilante killings. But human rights groups have noted that the killings have continued well into the Marcos Jr. administration. Dahas, a project of the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC), tallied at least 342 drug-related killings during Marcos’ first year as president.” Read full report 

17 November 2023

As Philippines’ Drug War Rolls On, Christians Continue Their Work

Beng Alba-Jones, Christianity Today

“Since taking office, Marcos has established more than 100 community-based drug rehab centers that provide drug users with temporary shelter and reintegrate them into society. Today there are nearly 500 of these centers, called Balay Silangan Reformation Centers, in the Philippines. However, during the first year of Marcos’s presidency, the number of drug-related killings actually increased from the last year of Duterte’s term, according to a recent report by the Dahas Project at the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. They counted 342 killings from Marcos’s inauguration in July 2022 until June 2023, 40 more than the previous year. Of that number, state agents killed a total of 146 people.” Read full report 

1 November 2023

61 Killed Under Marcos Admin As ‘War Against Illegal Drugs’ Continues in Philippines

Riyaz ul Khaliq, Anadolu Ajansi

“Data from Dahas, a monitoring project run by the University of the Philippines, however, revealed: ‘There were 175 drug-related killings in the country during Marcos’ first few months as President, or between 12 noon of June 30 and December 31, 2022.'” Read full report

1 November 2023

Rodrigo Duterte’s Legacy

Margaret Simons, Inside Story

“It’s true that the number of killings is lower than the peak in 2016–17. But the best available figures, compiled by the Dahas project of the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines, show that deaths, far from easing under Marcos, are more common than in the last years of the Duterte administration. (Dahas acknowledges that its figures are underestimates; they are drawn entirely from the media, which doesn’t report many fatalities.) Read full report

11 October 2023

Oral Statement Given During the General Debate on the 

Ahmed Adam on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

“The highly militarised drug war, despite the objective to implement a rights based-approach, continues to claim lives. Independent monitoring group Dahas documented over 250 drug related killings this year alone. At least 45 per cent of these were committed by state agents. There has been no tangible progress towards accountability for the widespread killings.” Read full report 

26 September 2023

The Courtroom in Caloocan

Bryan Lau, The Dial 

“On July 18, the ICC announced that the Philippine government had lost the appeal. The justice secretary, Crispin Remulla, under President Marcos, who had replaced Duterte in June 2022, denounced the ICC for foreign interference. The drug war continues: 342 people died in drug-related killings during the first year under Marcos, according to the Dahas database maintained by the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines. The president seems unlikely to repudiate the drug war, as long as he remains allied with his predecessor, whose daughter, Sara Z. Duterte, is the current vice president.” Read full report 

6 September 2023

Philippines Records Highest Weekly Deaths in ‘War on Drugs’: Monitoring Program 

Necva Tastan, Anadolu Ajansi

“The Philippines, during the first week of this month, has recorded the highest number of weekly deaths of the year in the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ a monitoring program has claimed . . . Among the 14 fatalities, ’11 were caused by state agents’ in the northeastern Davao City of the Philippines, the monitoring project Dahas run by the University of the Philippines showed.” Read full report. 

3 September 2023

Philippines: ‘The Government is Headed by a Former Dictator’s Son Who Reached Power in a Suspicious Manner’ 

CIVICUS

“However, while the focus on the drug problem remains, there has been a discursive shift from Duterte’s punitive and violent approach to an anti-drug campaign emphasising prevention and rehabilitation. But this hasn’t translated into an end to extrajudicial killings, which continue unabated in impoverished urban areas that are known to be havens for drug-related activities. Dahas, a research group from the University of the Philippines, reported 342 instances of drug-related killings carried out by state and non-state groups and people during the first year of the new government. The targets of the anti-drug campaign continue to be minor drug users and low-level peddlers. As happened under the previous administration, prominent drug lords remain untouched.” Read full report 

21 July 2023

Philippines Will Not Cooperate with ICC in Drug War Probe: Marcos

AFP, The Straits Times  

“More than 350 drug-related killings have been recorded since Mr Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of such killings.” Read full report

21 July 2023

Marcos Says Philippines is ‘Done Talking’ with ICC 

Agence France Press

“More than 350 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of such killings.” Report full report 

28 June 2023

Philippines Drugs Crackdown Continues as Marcos Jr. Marks First Anniversary

Chris Fitzgerald, Globe: Lines of Thought Across Southeast Asia 

“But despite Marcos Jr.’s highly-publicised promises, 2023 has been no different. The Dahas reporting project tracked 148 drug-related killings between January and 7 June. Last month was the deadliest so far, with 37 killings. Overall, 323 people have died in drug-related circumstances since Marcos Jr. took power . This shows the war on drugs continues unabated, costing more lives.” Read full report

15 June 2023

Rappler Shows How ‘Drug War’ Violence Continues Under Marcos

CMFR Staff, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility 

“The second part of the report produced a timeline following the statements made by Marcos and other government officials on illegal drugs. Gavilan also examined the data depicting the continuing ‘drug war’ under Marcos, showing up the different numbers published by government agencies and by Dahas, a project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. ” Read full report  

8 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos?

Cecil Morella, The Japan Times 

“More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings. That includes 175 in the first six months of Marcos’s presidency. In November, police acknowledged that 46 drug suspects had been killed since he took office.” Read full report 

7 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos?

Cecil Morella, Barron’s

“More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings. That includes 175 in the first six months of Marcos’s presidency. In November, police acknowledged that 46 drug suspects had been killed since he took office.” Read full report

7 June 2023

What’s the State of Philippine Human Rights Under Marcos? 

AFP, France 24

“Marcos has continued the crackdown but has pushed for more focus on prevention and rehabilitation. He told police to go after major drug dealers and not ‘the kid who makes 100 pesos ($2) a week selling weed.’ Yet the bodies keep piling up. More than 300 drug-related killings have been recorded since Marcos took office last June, according to figures compiled by Dahas, a University of the Philippines-backed research project that keeps count of drug-related killings.” Read full report 

9 March 2023

On the Philippine Government’s Statements at the UNHRC and the Marcos-Duterte Admin’s Human Rights Coordinating Council

KARAPATAN

“Drug war killings continue, with the University of the Philippine’s Dahas project recording 565 drug-related killings under the current administration. Convictions of police perpetrators during the previous Duterte administration are a drop in the bucket while masterminds such as Duterte and his cohorts remain unscathed—which is why victims’ families have continuously looked to the International Criminal Court for redress.” Read full report 

7 March 2023

Marcos’ “War on Drugs” Kills 58 People in 2024

Ang Bayan 

“According to its research, ‘drug-related’ killings have increased again since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office. Although number were high during the Duterte regime, the pattern of killings show a downtrend since its 2017 peak under the leadership of Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa. In 2022, for example, Dahas PH recorded 175 murders in the first six months of Marcos (July-December), higher by 26 than the 149 murders in the last six months of the Duterte regime (January-June 2022). In the following year, the number of victims increased further, from 324 in 2022 to 331 for 2023.” Read full report 

8 February 2023

Atrocity Alert No. 334: Nigeria, Philippines and Wagner Group

Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect 

“Although the majority of deaths took place between 2016-2018, the police and armed vigilantes continue to perpetrate extrajudicial killings of those perceived to be involved in illicit drug activity, including since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June 2022. The University of the Philippines’ Dahas program, which monitors reported drug-related killings, documented 324 people killed in drug-related incidents during 2022, including 175 in the first six months that President Marcos Jr. was in power.” Read full report 

18 December 2022

Groups Slam BBM-Sara Admin’s Human Rights Record

Davao Today

“In the first five months or from July 1 to November 30 of the current administration, data from the Dahas Project showed 152 drug-related killings. The number exceeded the 149 cases recorded during the final six months or from January 1 to June 30 this year of former president Rodrigo Duterte.” Read full report

10 December 2022

On Human Rights Day, Rights Group Assails Zero Justice for Killings, Rights Violantions under Marcos Jr.

Jonas Alpasan, Bulatlat

“The Third World Studies Center’s Dahas project has also documented at least 150 drug-related killings in the first five months of the Marcos Jr. administration. ‘Despite these sordid figures, there has been zero justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings. The culture of impunity continues to rear its ugly head,’ said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.” Read full report

5 December 2022

Philippines: Events of 2022

Human Rights Watch

“Soon after taking office on June 30, President Marcos stated he would continue the “war against drugs” initiated by his predecessor. While Marcos claimed his administration would do a “slightly different” anti-drug campaign by focusing on the rehabilitation of drug users, the unlawful use of force by the police and government agents continued. Monitoring by Dahas, a program run by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, found that at least 90 people had been killed in what the center termed “drug-related violence” in the period since Marcos’ inauguration and September 30.” Read full report

16 November 2022

PNP: 46 Killed in Drug War Under Marcos ‘Very Minimal’

Dexter Cabalza, Philippine Daily Inquirer 

“The 46 reported by Azurin and the 57 recorded by Dahas show a sharp drop from the more than 1,600 reported deaths of suspected drug offenders—users and dealers— killed in police operations in less than four months since Mr. Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, took office on June 30, 2016.” Read full report. 

19 September 2022

Uccisioni illegali nelle Filippine: necessaria un’indagine delle Nazioni Unite

Dexter Cabalza, Inquirer.net

“In un documento politico presentato agli Stati membri delle Nazioni Unite, la Human Rights Watch ha affermato che le uccisioni extragiudiziali nella “guerra alla droga” del governo filippino si verificano ancora regolarmente. Dahas (un programma del Centro Studi sul Terzo Mondo dell’Università delle Filippine) ha riportato 72 omicidi legati alla droga dopo che il presidente Ferdinand Marcos Jr. è entrato in carica il 30 giugno. I dati ufficiali del governo indicano che la polizia ha ucciso 71 persone dall’agosto 2021, portando a 6.252 il numero totale di omicidi denunciati dalla polizia tra luglio 2016 e maggio 2022. Il presidente Marcos non ha ripudiato gli abusi nella “guerra alla droga”, dichiarando di voler mantenere la linea adottata.” Read full report 

12 September 2022

UN Still Needs to Scrutinize the Philippines

Carlos H. Conde, Inquirer.net, Human Rights Watch

“Drug-related killings remain commonplace. Dahas, a program of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, found by looking at police and media reports that there were more drug-related killings—in which the victim had alleged links to the illicit drug trade—in July, the first month of the Marcos Jr. presidency, than in June, the last month of the Duterte administration. Altogether, 72 drug-related killings were recorded in July and August.” Read full report. 

12 September 2022

Watchdog Group Urges UN to Scrutinize Philippine Drug-related Killings Under Marcos

Camille Elemia, Benar News 

“Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office on June 30, 72 drug-related shootings by police have occurred in the Philippines, New York-based HRW said, citing Dahas, a program of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines that tracks media-reported drug deaths.” Read full report 

12 September 2022

Philippines: Strong UN Human Rights Council Action Needed

Human Rights Watch

“In a policy paper submitted to UN member states, Human Rights Watch said that extrajudicial killings in the Philippine government’s ‘war on drugs’ still occur on a regular basis. Dahas, a program of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, has reported 72 drug-related killings after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office on June 30. Official government figures indicate that the police killed 71 people since August 2021, bringing the total number of killings reported by the police between July 2016 and May 2022 to 6,252. President Marcos has not repudiated abuses in the ‘drug war,’ which he said he would continue.” Read full report

23 July 2021

Duterte Drug War Has Killed 2 Per Day, Says UP Study

Krixia Subingsubing, Inquirer.net

“The police have arbitrary ways of determining drug war deaths, which could obscure the real count,” Ariate pointed out. “It’s important to have a debate about this and make public these data so not all deaths can be simplified into ‘nanlaban’ (resisting arrest) . . . As such, the “Dahas” database—“dahas” is the Filipino word for violence—uses at least 27 criteria to assess each death: information on the victim (age, gender, occupation), incident (time, date, location) and assailants (state agent, nonstate agent, unknown), said Noriega. Read full report